When the final votes came in for the 1999 All-County volleyball team, Megan Honeycutt scored a decisive win over North Rowan teammate Carrie Powers for Player of the Year honors.

A similar situation played out last month in the Central Carolina Conference. That time Powers took home the hardware.

Only shared honors in both cases would have been more fitting for Honeycutt and Powers, who shared a great deal of success during their Cavalier careers. Without Powers’ sets, Honeycutt’s flying kills wouldn’t have terrorized opponents. And minus Honeycutt’s presence at the net, Powers’ passing options would have been limited.

“Each of them really made each other better,”said Tricia Hester, their coach and the county’s Coach of the Year. “Megan played really well against the county teams and Carrie really turned it up during conference.”

Both seniors sparkled for a North Rowan team that finished 16-6 overall and earned a spot in the 2A N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs.

Honeycutt counts the first-round loss to Mitchell High School as the only regret in her volleyball career. The Cavaliers made the playoffs three out of her four seasons but never advanced past the first round.

“Megan has been really big for us, she’s been strong three years,”Hester said. “Her athleticism on the court really shines. She’s exciting to watch because she jumps so well.”

Honeycutt averaged 101

“That’s what they remember,”Hester said. “They don’t remember who got it there.”

Before Honeycutt sent all those balls down, they first went up. And that’s why Honeycutt was all too happy to split player of the year honors with her setter.

“It’s good because Carrie deserves a lot, too. She’s an awesome setter,”Honeycutt said. “We meshed together pretty well. We did some good things together. I knew every time a good pass went to Carrie that she’d give me a good set.”

Powers stepped into the setting role fulltime this season after North dropped its two-setter attack from last year. The more Powers and Honeycutt played together, the stronger their 1-2 punch became.

“We have this connection, good chemistry,”Powers said. “Every time I set it up she hits it perfectly.”

And best of all, those sets don’t have to be perfect.

“Sometimes I won’t get a hold of it like I wanted to and then — wow! She amazes me with what she does with it.”

Every time Honeycutt and Powers took the floor they had the potential to amaze. One of their more prominent memories from the past season was a match against Mount Pleasant that came down to the deciding fifth game.

“We were in a situation where we were having a hard time getting points and all of a sudden Megan just started getting hot,”Hester said. “Carrie kept going to the player who was hot and Megan just pulled us through.”

“It got intense,” Honeycutt said. “I got like three kills in a row toward the end of the match and then a kill for the last point. It made it pretty exciting.”

One thing that excites Hester is something she might not get to see — the prospect of Honeycutt on a collegiate volleyball court. Despite the skill she possesses, Honeycutt insists that when she chooses a college, she’ll be a basketball player only.

“Miss Hester is trying to talk me into playing volleyball in college but I just want to play basketball,”said Honeycutt.