Wesleyan sweeps HPCA on Senior Night
BY MICHAEL LINDSAYENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Wesleyan Chris-tian wasn’t going to let a big win slip away on Senior Night.The Trojans, after winning the fi rst set, rallied hard to win a pivotal second set and rolled past rival High Point Christian 25-17, 32-30, 25-16 in nonconference volleyball Thursday evening at Wesleyan as the teams prepare to begin the state playoffs next week.
“We knew there’d be a lot of emo-tion coming into it — it’s Senior Night and HPCA’s a rival,” said Scotty Castevens, who coaches Wesleyan alongside wife Kelly. “So, I thought they handled the pressure pretty well. We do have five seniors. And now we’re just prepping for states in the next week and a half, two weeks.
“We know we really need to focus on our ser ve-receive and passing. But I’m happy with our offense, and our serving is our strong suit. So, I thought, overall, they did well. We got down pretty big that second set because of our serve-receive. But we chipped back and fought back into it, and then next thing you know we’re only down a couple and we have a chance.”
Morgan Downs had 12 kills, 13 digs and fi ve aces to lead the Trojans (15-4), who are ranked No. 60 in the state overall and No. 5 among NCISAA 4A teams. Audrey Kubis also had five aces and five blocks, while Ava Brown had 30 assists.
“We struggled in the beginning of the sec-ond game, but we pulled through,” said outside/right-side hitter Emma Gonzalez, who, along with Kubis, Fallon Evans, Emma Joyce and Megan Martin, celebrated Senior Night.
“Our passing was a little off, but our offense made up for that.“We’re feeling pretty good about states. We’re practicing — like we don’t have school tomorrow and we’re still going to practice. It’s mainly defense, because our offense is pretty stable, and plac-ing on the court. ... It’s very exciting. We didn’t have any seniors last year. So, we’ve been waiting for this for two years.”
Wesleyan won eight straight points midway through the first set to lead 18-10 and five of the final eight to lead the match 1-0. In the second set, however, the Cougars raced out to leads of 9-1 and 20-13 before the Trojans regrouped with a 10-3 run — sparked by fi ve straight points to start to tie the match at 23-23.
HPCA which jumped ahead in the set on strong play by Kennedy Powell, Emeline Martin, Carson Brooks and Sydney Bell had five chances to win the set, while Wesleyan had two before it got an ace by Kubis and a point on the Cougars’ side to eke out the second-set victory.
The Trojans quickly led 9-3 in the third set, stayed com-ortably ahead and won the final six points to finish off the sweep.
“I think one really big part of tonight was emotions, because it’s Senior Night,” said Downs, a sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist/setter.
“Basically, before the match, I said to the team, ‘Tonight we’re playing for our seniors. This is you all’s last hurrah.’ So, there was a lot of passion in it because of that, because it’s Senior Night and they’re our rivals.“We were not passing very well in the first part (of the second set) and they were serving really well,” she said.
“But then we started playing better and getting some momentum. Again, the pas-sion from Senior Night, we just kept pushing. Honestly, it was such a good feeling.”Caroline Smith had 16 kills for HPCA (16-9), which finished second in the PTAC behind Caldwell and is ranked No. 7 among NCISAA 3A teams.
Rosie Langendorfer (11 digs) and Powell (seven kills), who, along with Langendorfer, transferred in from public school power Wheatmore, while Martin had four aces.
“I thought we fought well in the first and second sets back and forth,” Cougars coach Bridget Knower said. “They have a lot of power, and their block is so strong. They’re scrappy on defense. So, I just want my girls to respond to those things, and I thought they did that the first two sets.
“That’s something we’re continuing to work on: being able to finish. When you have that momentum and just need a few more points to put it away. My girls get a little tense and then don’t play naturally. So, we’ve lost a few sets like that where we have been ahead. That’s something we continue to work on.
“If we’re seeded in the top eight, then that first round should be teams that we’re stronger than,” she said, looking ahead to the playoffs. “So we’ll really have to come out playing as a championship team. In our 3A, the top four teams are super-strong. So, there’s no room for those big dips. Volleyball always has those peaks and valleys, but you’ve got to come out of those valleys much quicker.”
The state playoffs, which will be seeded over the week-end, begin Tuesday at the higher seeds. In the 3A, the top four seeds will get byes into the quarterfinals Satur-day and the next four seeds will get a bye into the second round Thursday. In the 4A, the top four teams will get one bye into the quarterfinals Friday.
“This is probably the most balanced team we’ve had in years,” Castevens said. “We don’t really have a stand-out star player, but we’re ver y balanced. If they play the way they can play, I feel like they’re probably second in the state behind North Raleigh Christian.
“But I think the biggest thing for us is consistency. We can beat the best teams in the state and then turn around and lose to the last-place team. Again, it’s just the consistency. But if they’re playing like they should and we can control our side of the net and limit our errors, then I feel pretty good.
BY MICHAEL LINDSAYENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Wesleyan Chris-tian wasn’t going to let a big win slip away on Senior Night.The Trojans, after winning the fi rst set, rallied hard to win a pivotal second set and rolled past rival High Point Christian 25-17, 32-30, 25-16 in nonconference volleyball Thursday evening at Wesleyan as the teams prepare to begin the state playoffs next week.
“We knew there’d be a lot of emo-tion coming into it — it’s Senior Night and HPCA’s a rival,” said Scotty Castevens, who coaches Wesleyan alongside wife Kelly. “So, I thought they handled the pressure pretty well. We do have five seniors. And now we’re just prepping for states in the next week and a half, two weeks.
“We know we really need to focus on our ser ve-receive and passing. But I’m happy with our offense, and our serving is our strong suit. So, I thought, overall, they did well. We got down pretty big that second set because of our serve-receive. But we chipped back and fought back into it, and then next thing you know we’re only down a couple and we have a chance.”
Morgan Downs had 12 kills, 13 digs and fi ve aces to lead the Trojans (15-4), who are ranked No. 60 in the state overall and No. 5 among NCISAA 4A teams. Audrey Kubis also had five aces and five blocks, while Ava Brown had 30 assists.
“We struggled in the beginning of the sec-ond game, but we pulled through,” said outside/right-side hitter Emma Gonzalez, who, along with Kubis, Fallon Evans, Emma Joyce and Megan Martin, celebrated Senior Night.
“Our passing was a little off, but our offense made up for that.“We’re feeling pretty good about states. We’re practicing — like we don’t have school tomorrow and we’re still going to practice. It’s mainly defense, because our offense is pretty stable, and plac-ing on the court. ... It’s very exciting. We didn’t have any seniors last year. So, we’ve been waiting for this for two years.”
Wesleyan won eight straight points midway through the first set to lead 18-10 and five of the final eight to lead the match 1-0. In the second set, however, the Cougars raced out to leads of 9-1 and 20-13 before the Trojans regrouped with a 10-3 run — sparked by fi ve straight points to start to tie the match at 23-23.
HPCA which jumped ahead in the set on strong play by Kennedy Powell, Emeline Martin, Carson Brooks and Sydney Bell had five chances to win the set, while Wesleyan had two before it got an ace by Kubis and a point on the Cougars’ side to eke out the second-set victory.
The Trojans quickly led 9-3 in the third set, stayed com-ortably ahead and won the final six points to finish off the sweep.
“I think one really big part of tonight was emotions, because it’s Senior Night,” said Downs, a sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist/setter.
“Basically, before the match, I said to the team, ‘Tonight we’re playing for our seniors. This is you all’s last hurrah.’ So, there was a lot of passion in it because of that, because it’s Senior Night and they’re our rivals.“We were not passing very well in the first part (of the second set) and they were serving really well,” she said.
“But then we started playing better and getting some momentum. Again, the pas-sion from Senior Night, we just kept pushing. Honestly, it was such a good feeling.”Caroline Smith had 16 kills for HPCA (16-9), which finished second in the PTAC behind Caldwell and is ranked No. 7 among NCISAA 3A teams.
Rosie Langendorfer (11 digs) and Powell (seven kills), who, along with Langendorfer, transferred in from public school power Wheatmore, while Martin had four aces.
“I thought we fought well in the first and second sets back and forth,” Cougars coach Bridget Knower said. “They have a lot of power, and their block is so strong. They’re scrappy on defense. So, I just want my girls to respond to those things, and I thought they did that the first two sets.
“That’s something we’re continuing to work on: being able to finish. When you have that momentum and just need a few more points to put it away. My girls get a little tense and then don’t play naturally. So, we’ve lost a few sets like that where we have been ahead. That’s something we continue to work on.
“If we’re seeded in the top eight, then that first round should be teams that we’re stronger than,” she said, looking ahead to the playoffs. “So we’ll really have to come out playing as a championship team. In our 3A, the top four teams are super-strong. So, there’s no room for those big dips. Volleyball always has those peaks and valleys, but you’ve got to come out of those valleys much quicker.”
The state playoffs, which will be seeded over the week-end, begin Tuesday at the higher seeds. In the 3A, the top four seeds will get byes into the quarterfinals Satur-day and the next four seeds will get a bye into the second round Thursday. In the 4A, the top four teams will get one bye into the quarterfinals Friday.
“This is probably the most balanced team we’ve had in years,” Castevens said. “We don’t really have a stand-out star player, but we’re ver y balanced. If they play the way they can play, I feel like they’re probably second in the state behind North Raleigh Christian.
“But I think the biggest thing for us is consistency. We can beat the best teams in the state and then turn around and lose to the last-place team. Again, it’s just the consistency. But if they’re playing like they should and we can control our side of the net and limit our errors, then I feel pretty good.
