By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

Fifth in a series of Rowan County volleyball reports …

SALISBURY — New Salisbury head volleyball coach NyAsia Harris can hardly wait for November to put on a Juke Harris jersey and cheer for Wake Forest basketball.

Juke is her younger brother. That’s a nice claim to fame.

But Ms. Harris also may be famous as a volleyball coach before this season is over. Salisbury appears to be the best it’s been in a long time. The Hornets are about as experienced as any high school team possibly can be with eight seniors on an 11-person team.

“These girls haven’t been past the first round of the playoffs in their careers, so that’s definitely a goal for this team,” Harris said. “One of the first things I asked the girls is what did they want out of their senior season. They all  wanted one thing — winning — and I think they are playing together better than they ever have. There are times we have looked really good.”

With all those seniors, it’s a now-or-never season for the Hornets, who are not famous for volleyball prowess.

Four Rowan schools – South, West, East and Carson – have a steady pipeline of volleyball talent, girls who are introduced to the game young, play in middle school, play on competitive club teams, play on competitive jayvee squads and are well-versed in the fundamentals of the game by the time they’re ready to shine for the varsity.

Salisbury and North Rowan don’t normally enjoy a volleyball pipeline. Their athletes are as good as anyone’s, but they are often learning volleyball on the fly, at the high school level. No matter how high you can jump and no matter how hard you can hit, there’s a huge gap in skill level to make up.

Salisbury hasn’t won the Central Carolina Conference championship since 2014 and hasn’t won a playoff game since the Hornets outlasted R-S Central in a five-set, first-round match in 2014. Those were the Juliana Anderson days at Salisbury. She was a special club player. Anderson, CCC Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015, was the Hornets’ last player of the year in the conference or the county, although there’s a chance that could change this season.

This is a very unusual group of Hornets in the sense that while a lot of them discovered volleyball relatively late, they now have been playing together as a unit for several years.

Harris was an assistant coach under Andrea Davis and was ready for the challenge when she was asked to take the reins. It’s a solid team she inherited that went 10-2 in the CCC last season and graduated only two regulars.

Dr. Steve Yang still assists with the team. Harris is also assisted by “Coach Scott.”

“I don’t know his last name, he’s just Coach Scott to us, but he’s made a big difference in the technique of our hitters,” Harris said. “He was an accomplished volleyball player in Florida.”

One of the seniors is Ashley Yang, the assistant coach’s daughter. She does have club experience and is the team’s setter. She had 660 assists last season and soon will reach 2,000 for her career. That’s a whopping total.

Yang also contributes more than her share of kills, digs and aces.

“She’s vocal, a good leader who can make adjustments on the court,” Harris said. “She’s an amazing back-row player.”

Ava Morris, who is also one of the county’s top swimmers and top students, is the most consistent hitter as well as a steady digger for the Hornets. She also leads the team in aces. An aspiring lawyer, she had 341 kills and 261 digs as a junior. She has totaled 880 career kills and is well on the way to the 1,000 milestone.

“Ava is so strong, a truly outstanding outside hitter,” Harris said.

Salisbury gets steady kills and some momentum-changing blocks from middles Kendall Henderson and Carmen McQueen.

Henderson is a terrific track athlete. Her explosion shows up on the volleyball court.

“Kendall jumps very high,” Harris said. “Carmen is our tallest player (6 feet) and she’s learning what she can do. She’s getting more confident and aggressive.”

Henderson is second on the team in kills this season, while McQueen is third.

Kylaih Pearson-Hasty is the Hornets’ libero, a full-time defensive specialist. Liberos frequently lead their team in digs.

“She takes pride in putting on the libero shirt,” Harris said. “She’ll hit the floor for a dig.”

Addie Myers is a left-handed outside hitter who is a solid server and contributes kills and digs.

Dayami Acevedo, a junior who is the only non-senior in the regular rotation, is an outside hitter with no weaknesses. She contributes across the board on the stat sheet and excels on defense when she’s on the back row.

“Quiet, but lots of energy,” Harris said. “She could play anywhere for us — she was even the libero for one match — but she really loves to hit.”

Seniors Jordan Henderson, Kendall’s twin, and Ella Lockhart are hitters who provide depth.

Juniors Keynai Ambers and Makylah Hayes play in the jayvee games, but they also dress for the varsity. They provide insurance if someone gets sick or injured, and it’s also critical for them to learn the varsity ropes.

“They’re going to be important next season,” Harris said.

As far as this season, the Hornets have high hopes and it’s not just wishful thinking. West Davidson is almost always the team to beat in the CCC. Salisbury lost 3-0 to the Green Dragons, but a 31-29 second set could have gone either way and changed everything. The Hornets had match point, leading 24-21, but couldn’t close it out. They’ll face West Davidson again on Sept. 24. The Hornets plan to be ready for it.

The Lexington games also will be big. Lexington is surprisingly solid in volleyball and upset the Hornets in the semifinals of the CCC tournament last year. That may have been the most disappointing setback of the season.

Salisbury (3-3, 3-1) flattened South Davidson and East Davidson on back-to-back nights recently without breaking a sweat and looks like it can win often and accomplish goals.

Salisbury’s opening match against South Rowan told Harris a lot.

“South’s always good, they already had won several matches, and we were just getting  started,” Harris said. “But our girls went out there and beat South in the first set. South came back and won the match, but that first set told us something. If we can play with South, we can play with a lot of teams on our schedule. Even the South coach said, ‘Wow, you guys are different this year.'”

Salisbury volleyball