High school volleyball: Short-handed Hornets win again
Published 12:01 am Thursday, September 22, 2022
North's Krisstyle Stockton 5 and Tyler Morrison 6 dive for the ball with Salisbury's Icesis Nwafor 1 watching. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
Salisbury's Ashley Yang 2 and North's Daphne Robinson 8 play the net. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
Staff report
SPENCER — Salisbury’s Ava Morris may have set some records in Tuesday’s volleyball sweep of North Rowan with a whopping 13 aces on her 22 serves.
Salisbury was thinner than usual due to injury and illness, but still won 25-17, 25-15 and 25-11 over the Cavaliers.
Elinor Hinson, who often leads the Hornets in blocks, rolled an ankle in Monday’s loss at North Davidson. Senior Brooke Cunningham, one of the Hornets’ top hitters, has been out this week with sickness. Junior Sheenya Daugherty, frequently the leader for the Hornets in digs and serve-receive, didn’t play much due to illness.
The Hornets (9-3, 4-2) still had enough to win the 1A/2A Central Carolina Conference matchup.
Setter Ashley Yang had 21 assists and five aces. Morris led in kills with 11. Freshman Dayami Acevedo had four aces. Icesis Nwafor, a basketball player helping out the volleyball program as a senior, contributed three kills. Yang, Morris and Addie Myers led in digs.
Seniors Maddie Albright and Abigail Perez and junior Katie Peeler also contributed tangible stats to the Hornets’ latest win.
With a stout sophomore class of Morris, Hinson, Yang and Myers making its presence felt on the CCC leaderboards in a variety of statistical categories, the future of Salisbury volleyball is bright.
The present isn’t bad, either. MaxPreps ranks the Hornets 13th in 2A West, so they certainly appear to be headed for the state playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Salisbury is a long-shot to win its first CCC championship since 2014, when it won the regular season and the tournament, but the Hornets have been competitive with everyone in the league.
Salisbury lost a 3-2 home match with league-leading West Davidson on Sept. 1 after being up 2-1.
The Hornets were 1-1 after two sets but dropped a 3-1 home match with East Davidson, the CCC’s second-place team, on Sept. 8.
Salisbury will have to go on the road for the rematches with both contenders, but the Hornets should have a chance — if everyone is healthy.
Salisbury is home tonight against Thomasville, while North Rowan, which has won two matches, hosts South Davidson.
