Two weeks after Hurricane Matthew skirted the North Carolina coast and brought torrential rain and devastating flooding to the area, some sense of normalcy has finally returned to the region.
With county schools back in session, the Midway and Union volleyball teams were able to resume action on Thursday evening, as the Lady Spartans traveled to Spivey’s Corner to take on the Lady Raiders on Senior Night. Despite a scrappy effort by Union, Midway was able to overcome a shaky performance to win the match in straight sets to remain undefeated.
The contest was a close affair in the first set before Midway slowly began pulling away. Behind solid serving by Hannah Lucas, the Lady Raiders seized control by building an 18-8 lead before finally closing out the first set 25-15.
Midway opened up an early lead at the start of the second set but that lead quickly dwindled as Union took advantage of a series of Lady Raiders miscues. Still, though, Midway settled down and seized control, taking the second set 25-13.
The third set was the closest of the three, but the Lady Raiders led throughout the set and would seal the deal with a 25-20 victory to win in straight sets.
After the game, Union head coach Kristyn McPhail was proud of her team’s effort despite the loss.
“Given the circumstances and the difficulty of the past couple weeks, I thought we played really well,” McPhail said. “This is the first time we’ve touched the court in two weeks and I’m proud of how well we played and having left it all out on the court.”
For Midway, head coach Whitney Lamm shared similar thoughts, especially on Senior Night.
“Tonight was about two things: honoring our seniors and getting back into the swing of things,” Lamm said. “I think we had a great combined effort overall, especially given that we haven’t played in two weeks.”
Lamm also wanted to give props to her two seniors, Hailey Brooke West and Autumn Byrd.
“HB and Autumn played really well. They are so dedicated to this sport with playing travel ball and they bring a lot of enthusiasm and leadership to our team,” Lamm concluded.
Statistically for Union, they were led by Britni Register with 22 digs, Alli Alphin had 12 assists and Lindsey Ammons had 10 serve points.
For Midway, Hannah Lucas had 21 serve points, Leah Williams had 13 digs and Madee Royal had 10 kills.
Going forward, Midway’s schedule has some uncertainty. The Lady Raiders are slated to be back in action against Trask on Monday, however, they still have have a game with West Bladen to make up before NCHSAA reporting on Tuesday. For now, the status of that game is undecided with the option of not making it up at all being a possibility, but it is unclear what implications that would have.
For Union, games with East Bladen and Pender are still pending.
With the win, Midway now stands 19-0 overall. Union falls to 2-17.
