From staff reports

LANDIS — West Rowan’s volleyball team has been sharper, but the third-seeded Falcons beat sixth-seeded Robinson 25-23, 25-22, 15-25 and 25-10 in the opening round of the South Piedmont Conference Tournament.

West was in a struggle with the Bulldogs right from the start and faced three-point deficits before pulling out the first set. Emma Clarke and Sophia Blackledge combined on a a critical block with the score tied at 23-all, and the Falcons took the set on an error by the Bulldogs.

Robinson roared back from seven points down to tie the second set at 21-all, but Clarke had back-to-back kills to give the Falcons a 23-21 lead.

Robinson won the third set handily, but the Falcons responded with a blowout win in the fourth set.

Clarke had 18 kills and six aces. Blackledge, Lainey Sweet and Lydia Wilson had eight kills each.

Brinley Batts and Clarke had 13 digs each, and Ava Gusler had 11.

Lucy Shelton, who played on the West jayvees, did well on defense and serve receive.

West (16-6) will play second-seeded South Rowan in a 6:30 p.m. semifinal at South on Tuesday. The teams split their regular-season meetings.

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South Rowan beat seventh-seeded Central Cabarrus 25-10, 25-18 and 25-18 in a first-round matchup.

Leah Rymer and Avery Welch had eight kills each. Meredith Faw had five.

Rymer had 11 assists, while Laney Beaver had nine for the Raiders (20-5).

Faw led in digs with 16. Campbell Withers had 13. Beaver had eight.

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In first-round games played at Lake Norman Charter, the top-seeded hosts swept eighth-seeded Northwest Cabarrus and fourth-seeded Carson beat fifth-seeded East Rowan 3-1.