High school volleyball: South wins again in 2A playoffs
Published 11:59 pm Thursday, October 31, 2019
South's Kira Rymer 13 and WS's Anna Bates 3 at the net.. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
South's Cameron Black 4, Kira Rymer 13 and Ashlyn Faw 2 celebrate a point. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
South's Ashlyn Faw 2 with WS's Jaden Tuttle 6. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
South's Anna Rymer 5 and Ashlyn Faw 2 with WS's Anna Bates 3. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
South's Kira Rymer 13 and WS's Lyza Addington 12 and Anna Grace Smith 9 at the net... photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
Staff report
CHINA GROVE — A power outage at South Rowan forced a change in venue, but the Raiders kept rolling on Thursday with a sweep of West Stokes in the third round of the 2A state volleyball playoffs.
After moving to the China Grove Middle School gym, about three miles away, South (28-1) handled the 20th-seeded Wildcats with relative ease — 25-16, 25-18 and 25-17.
“It was the only option we had to play at the middle school,” South head coach Jenna Horne said. “It was stressful at first, but it worked out all right.”
The fifth-seeded Raiders won their 25th in a row since a non-conference loss to West Rowan early in the season.
South swept Bunker Hill and Lake Norman Charter in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
“We’ve played the best we have all year in the playoffs,” South head coach Jenna Horne said. “It hasn’t just been two or three girls. We’ve been getting good play from all six on the court.”
Cousins Kira Rymer, a senior, and Anna Rymer, a junior, led the way. Kira had 19 kills, 15 assists and five aces. Anna had 14 kills, 15 assists and eight digs.
“They played really smart when they tried to block them,” Horne said. “They weren’t just swinging. They were placing balls where they needed to go.”
Ashlyn Faw, a senior outside hitter, had four kills and 13 digs.
“She’s been having better swings, and we’re getting better passes to her,” Horne said. “It’s big for us to get some good hits from the outside.”
The Black sisters, Payton and Cameron, always stand out defensively for South. Payton, the sophomore libero, had 15 digs. Freshman Cameron had five kills and eight digs.
After taking three home games in the playoffs, South will travel to Newton on Saturday (time TBA) for a regional semifinal game against No. 1 seed Fred T. Foard (29-1). Foard’s Tigers swept R-S Central on Thursday.
“They’re a very solid team,” Horne said. “We’ll have to play our ‘A’ game.”
