Experienced Freedom Christian volleyball team vies for state title
By Jaclyn Shambaugh
Staff writer FAYETTTEVILLE OBSERVER
Posted Oct 26, 2018 at 5:44 PM Updated Oct 26, 2018 at 5:44 PM
The team, which has nine seniors, will take on Gaston Day for the 2-A title.
Freedom Christian has been a regular in the NCISAA volleyball playoffs its entire program history.
The Patriots have made six postseason appearances in the seven years since the school’s athletic programs became eligible for NCISAA play in 2012.
But a state title has eluded them, and Freedom has reached just one championship match.
The Patriots will get another chance Saturday in the state final against top-seeded Gaston Day (22-8). The match is at Matthews Carmel Christian.
Freedom, under the direction of first-year coach Wyndee Mathias, has plenty of experienced players, including nine seniors, and a desire to capture that elusive championship.
“We’re playing with the mentality of one ball, one point,” Mathias said. “And the girls have realized that, ‘hey, we’re seniors and we’ve played together all these years.’ They’re playing with a sense of this being their chance.”
As the No. 6 seed, Freedom (19-6) pulled off upsets in the quarter- and semifinal rounds, knocking out No. 3 Hickory Christian and No. 2 Davidson Day.
Both were straight-set wins. The latter was particularly sweet, serving up some redemption after Davidson Day handed Freedom a loss at an early-season tournament, one of two defeats the Patriots suffered during that tournament.
The other was to Gaston Day, a 2-1 loss before Freedom launched into its conference schedule.
“I told the girls that this tournament was our starting point,” Mathias said. “This is where we gauge where we are with everyone who will be looking at states.”
Since then, the Patriots have been striving for steady improvement, strengthening an already well-balanced and experienced team.
The team is senior-heavy, with nine seniors on the 12-player roster.
“That’s been the key,” Mathias said. “And out of those nine, all of them play club volleyball. I’ve got girls that are basically year-round volleyball players. It’s been really easy to coach a team like that.”
Part of the Mathias’ coaching strategy was to keep the team’s early losses and the learning opportunities they created in the conversation.
“We referenced those games and those teams a lot, because we knew they would be big players in the state tournament,” Mathias said.
Since the start of the postseason, that mentality has changed. The Patriots have shelved much of the motivation an early loss might provide in favor of being driven by the prospect of a state title.
“Most of the comments made were about how much both teams have progressed immensely,” Mathias said. “That whole mindset didn’t really come into play. They’re just the next team on the list, and how can we do our best to try to come out on top?”
Staff writer Jaclyn Shambaugh can be reached at jshambaugh@fayobserver.com or 910-609-0651.
By Jaclyn Shambaugh
Staff writer FAYETTTEVILLE OBSERVER
Posted Oct 26, 2018 at 5:44 PM Updated Oct 26, 2018 at 5:44 PM
The team, which has nine seniors, will take on Gaston Day for the 2-A title.
Freedom Christian has been a regular in the NCISAA volleyball playoffs its entire program history.
The Patriots have made six postseason appearances in the seven years since the school’s athletic programs became eligible for NCISAA play in 2012.
But a state title has eluded them, and Freedom has reached just one championship match.
The Patriots will get another chance Saturday in the state final against top-seeded Gaston Day (22-8). The match is at Matthews Carmel Christian.
Freedom, under the direction of first-year coach Wyndee Mathias, has plenty of experienced players, including nine seniors, and a desire to capture that elusive championship.
“We’re playing with the mentality of one ball, one point,” Mathias said. “And the girls have realized that, ‘hey, we’re seniors and we’ve played together all these years.’ They’re playing with a sense of this being their chance.”
As the No. 6 seed, Freedom (19-6) pulled off upsets in the quarter- and semifinal rounds, knocking out No. 3 Hickory Christian and No. 2 Davidson Day.
Both were straight-set wins. The latter was particularly sweet, serving up some redemption after Davidson Day handed Freedom a loss at an early-season tournament, one of two defeats the Patriots suffered during that tournament.
The other was to Gaston Day, a 2-1 loss before Freedom launched into its conference schedule.
“I told the girls that this tournament was our starting point,” Mathias said. “This is where we gauge where we are with everyone who will be looking at states.”
Since then, the Patriots have been striving for steady improvement, strengthening an already well-balanced and experienced team.
The team is senior-heavy, with nine seniors on the 12-player roster.
“That’s been the key,” Mathias said. “And out of those nine, all of them play club volleyball. I’ve got girls that are basically year-round volleyball players. It’s been really easy to coach a team like that.”
Part of the Mathias’ coaching strategy was to keep the team’s early losses and the learning opportunities they created in the conversation.
“We referenced those games and those teams a lot, because we knew they would be big players in the state tournament,” Mathias said.
Since the start of the postseason, that mentality has changed. The Patriots have shelved much of the motivation an early loss might provide in favor of being driven by the prospect of a state title.
“Most of the comments made were about how much both teams have progressed immensely,” Mathias said. “That whole mindset didn’t really come into play. They’re just the next team on the list, and how can we do our best to try to come out on top?”
Staff writer Jaclyn Shambaugh can be reached at jshambaugh@fayobserver.com or 910-609-0651.
