On Thursday night in Moravian Falls, the Wilkes Central student section was fired up before the Eagles’ Mountain Valley Athletic Conference opener with rival West Wilkes.
They were dabbing, dancing and chanting, loudly, creating a rather intimidating environment. But the Blackhawks, despite their youth, were far from intimidated.
In fact, they rolled out to a 9-0 lead in the first set and went on to sweep the Eagles 3-0 in dominating fashion — 25-9, 25-14 and 25-15.
“I said, ‘Guys, go out there and take care of that on the court,’ and they did,” West Wilkes Head Coach Steve Bryan said about the raucous atmosphere. “I’m just really proud of them.”
After the 9-0 start, Wilkes Central Head Coach Ashley Clonch called a timeout and the Eagles started to claw back into the first set after that. They cut the deficit to five points at 12-7 but the Blackhawks scored the next seven points on a service run from sophomore Brianna Lewis to take a 19-7 lead.
Lewis had a pair of aces in that run and freshman Cheyenne Clonch added a pair of kills. Each of the Blackhawks’ final four points of the set came as a result of Wilkes Central unforced errors.
In the second set, the Eagles scored the first two points but that was Wilkes Central’s only lead of the night and it was immediately eliminated by a pair of kills and a block from Lauren Anderson. West Wilkes scored seven of the next nine points with the help of a pair of kills from McKenzie Mastin and a kill and an ace from Alex Bryan.
“They were just stronger at the net than we were today; blocking, hitting, they’re just good,” Clonch said about the Blackhawks. “And their setter put the balls where they could swing on them.”
The Blackhawks pulled away late in the second set, again scoring the final three points on Wilkes Central miscues. The third set brought more of the same but this time, the Blackhawks recorded the final point on their own as Bryan recorded her third ace of the match.
Anderson finished the game with six kills and a team-high four blocks. Clonch added four kills and a pair of blocks. Mastin led the Blackhawks with eight kills.
“(Alex Lillie and Lauren Anderson) are a presence at the net and McKenzie hit well, as usual. Alex and Aaliyah (Mastin) and Madison Wood are starting to hit some — Cheyenne, my freshman, hit really well,” Bryan said. “Overall, I thought it was a great performance in a pretty loud environment.”
For the Eagles, Holly Swofford made several impressive diving digs and finished the night with six kills.
“Holly was all over the place,” Clonch said. “I was very proud of her tonight. She wanted to leave it all out in the floor and she does. I love watching Holly play. She’s a great athlete on the volleyball court and on the soccer field. She’s a true competitor and I love that about her.”