Staff report

LANDIS — Fans who came to watch South Piedmont Conference Tournament volleyball got more than they bargained for on Tuesday.

The two semifinal matches lasted almost five hours. Both matches went five sets, with top-seeded Lake Norman Charter surviving fourth-seeded Carson and third-seeded West Rowan winning against second-seeded South Rowan.

The South-West match concluded shortly before 10 p.m.

Playoff pairings will be released on Thursday.

Lake Norman Charter 3, Carson 2 (semifinal)

Lake Norman Charter (20-2) won 16-25, 25-14, 29-27, 20-25 and 17-15 against the Cougars (15-11).

Carson had the Knights on the ropes in the third and fifth sets, but couldn’t quite finish them off.

Cadi Joyner had 20 kills and four blocks for the Cougars. Hailey Safrit had 11 kills.

Kaylee Thonen had 33 digs, Peyton Connolly had 20, and freshman Rylee Hedrick had 14,

Hedrick had 33 assists.

Carson is 19th in the 3A West RPI rankings, while Lake Norman Charter is sixth.

Lake Norman Charter had four players with double-digit kills, led by Sarah Turner, who also contributed six blocks.

Danielle Lewis had 41 digs. Joy Atwell had 42 assists.

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West Rowan 3, South Rowan 2 (semifinal)

The Falcons beat the Raiders 26-24, 19-25, 25-21, 20-25 and 15-13.

Emma Clarke had a powerful match to lead the Falcons (17-6).

The senior had 29 kills, five blocks and 18 digs.

Sophia Blackledge had nine kills. Lainey Sweet had four kills.

Ava Gusler led West in digs with 22. Lucy Shelton had 17 and Brinley Batts 13.

Neely Hiatt did the setting.

South scored 108 points to West’s 105 for the match, but the Falcons won the critical points in the first and fifth sets.

Leah Rymer (15), Avery Welch (13), Laney Beaver (9)  and Meredith Faw (7) led South in kills.

Beaver had 24 digs. Campbell Withers had 16 digs, with Avery Fisher getting 14. Faw had nine, while Rymer had eight.

Beaver had 21 assists. Rymer had 17.

South is seventh in the 3A West RPI, while West Rowan is 10th.

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East Rowan lost to Carson in four sets in the first round and is 29th in the 3A West RPI.

Safrit had 13 kills for the Cougars, while Joyner had 11.

Alana Herring had four aces. Thonen had 26 digs, while Connolly had 18.

Hedrick had 19 assists. Maggie Cross had 13.

For the Mustangs, Alli Corl and Cameron Ostle had 11 kills each.

Leigan Lusk had five blocks. Jordan Dry had 28 digs.

Jacee Eudy had 21 digs and 33 assists.

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Clarke had 18 kills and six aces as West got through a first-round matchup with sixth-seeded Robinson in four sets.

Blackledge, Sweet and Lydia Wilson had eight kills each. Clarke and Brinley Batts had 13 digs.

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South swept seventh-seeded Central Cabarrus in the first round.

Rymer and Welch had eight kills. Faw and Fisher had four aces. Faw had 16 digs, while Withers had 13.

Rymer and Beaver combined for 20 assists.