Midway’s Cameron Marshburn swings the ball back toward a teammate closer to the net as Jenna Jackson watches.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Clinton’s Jenna Jackson hits the deck early in the match for a nice dig.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Lady Raider Kyleigh Stonerock gets up high for an attack late in the game.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Graycin Hall had a nice game for Midway, getting several kills on the night.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Spivey’s Corner was the epicenter of a huge rivalry showdown Thursday night as old foes Midway and Clinton squared off on the volleyball court to slug it out in their Southeastern Athletic Conference opener. The Lady Raiders were coming off an epic five-set takedown of previously undefeated Wallace-Rose Hill while the Lady Dark Horses came in fresh off a 3-0 loss to Mintz. Fans from both schools packed the bleachers, hopeful that it was their team that took an early edge in conference play. When the ball hit the deck for the last time, it was Midway taking home the win, getting a shutout 3-0 victory.
Advantage leaned Midway’s favor early after they built a 5-2 lead, but it quickly dissolved to a tie score of 5-5. Clinton then took the lead for the first time at 7-6, hoping for more. Instead, the lead pendulumed back and forth and was all tied up at 11-11. The Lady Raiders then opened a lead of 15-12, seemingly on the verge of pulling away, but the Lady Dark Horses reeled them back in and tied it up again at 15-15, prompting a timeout.
When play resumed, Clinton scored five unanswered, taking a 17-15 lead before Midway could strike again. The teams continued to trade jabs all the way to the tie score of 20-20 then again at 21-21 as the battle was as intense as ever. In the late stages, the Lady Raiders took a 23-21 lead, prompting Clinton to burn a timeout. Out of the break, Midway finished the set out with a 25-21 victory.
The second set saw the Lady Raiders gradually open a sizable lead that reached six points. The Lady Dark Horses trimmed it down to 13-9 before Midway opened the lead back to 16-9. After an extended volley, Clinton won the battle and made it 16-10. After that, the game got away from the Lady Horses, swinging much more in favor of Midway, who led 21-11 late. From there, the second set quickly ended with the Lady Raiders winning 25-11.
In the third set, Midway picked up where they left off, getting a quick 3-0 lead to prompt a timeout from Clinton. When play resumed, the Lady Horses tallied the first point to stop the Lady Raiders run. Clinton then found their footing, running it back to tie things up at 5-5, forcing Midway to burn a timeout.
Each team traded scores before the Lady Raiders opened up another advantage at 10-6. At 14-7, the Lady Dark Horses whistled for timeout, searching for another run. When play resumed, the lead reached 16-7, and Clinton was able to establish some offense to at least slow Midway down a little bit; but it seemed like the outcome was inevitable. Indeed, the Lady Raiders finished things out, winning 25-13 to win 3-0.
After the game, Midway head coach Susan Clark admitted that she felt her team made some mistakes early but settled down as the game went on.
“There is always a lot of energy when we play Clinton so it takes a little time to settle in,” she said. “I thought we made lots of errors in the first set but we are still a work in progress. We are working to find ways to minimize our mental mistakes and decisions and cut back on the errors.”
Next up for the Lady Dark Horses is a trio of games next week, two of which are home. On Monday they will host East Bladen followed by West Bladen on Tuesday. They will hit the road on Thursday when they travel to take on Red Springs.
For Midway, they also have three games next week, all of which are on the road. They will travel to Harnett Central on Monday, Fairmont on Tuesday, and West Bladen on Thursday.