The Lady Highlanders varsity volleyball team came out strong on Tuesday evening, and defeated their rivals at the Blue Ridge Early College Lady Bobcats 3-0 in a conference game.
The first set started fast for the Highlanders, who were able to score several points in a row rapid-fire style, staying out of reach of their opponents. The Lady Bobcats tried to keep up but the Lady Highlanders kept their own score far enough ahead that they were easily able to cinch a 25-7 victory for the set.
The Lady Bobcats started the second set playing more deliberate volleyball, and things were neck and neck for about half of the set as neither team gained a decisive lead. There were several bouts of extended play where the ball was in the air for a long time without any scoring.
However, the Lady Highlanders pulled ahead by the end and won 25-17.
In the third set, the Lady Highlanders again got an early lead with several quick kills. At one point they were ahead of the Lady Bobcats by 10 points.
That almost changed when the Lady Bobcats caught some late momentum, scoring several points from both strong hits as well as out-of-bounds hits from the Lady Highlanders. For a few minutes, as the score almost evened out at 24-21, it looked like the game might continue past the third set, but then the Lady Highlanders scored again and won the game 3-0. The stadium, full of many students and supporters clad in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, erupted into cheers that echoed off the gym’s walls.
In an email after the game, Coach Caitlyn Bishop said it was “icing on the cake” that they’d won on senior night of all nights.
“We came out early in the first set to really set the tone. It was a great night celebrating our seniors and getting a big conference win made it a lot sweeter!” she wrote in an email.
The Lady Highlanders’ next game will be a rematch against the Lady Bobcats taking place Friday, Oct. 11. It will be an away game and also the final conference game for the season. After that, they’re set to play the Rosman Lady Tigers at home on Monday, Oct. 14.
Senior night
It was senior night, as well, honoring four players who will be graduating this year: Katie Earp, Karen Gomez, Mallory Shriver and Aislynn Wyatt-Luck. They walked out in ceremonial fashion, each with family members, flowers and hand-drawn signs celebrating them.
Athletic Director Brett Lamb said some words about all four of them as they each walked out. He said Earp plans to pursue a degree in teaching at Western Carolina University, and that Gomez will go for a career in ultrasound tech. Shriver plans to go to North Georgia Tech and “pursue cosmetology and one day own her own salon.” Finally, Wyatt-Luck plans to go to SCC, pursue a nursing career and get an aesthetician license, Lamb said.
The girls posed for pictures and Shriver, asked for comment, said, “We love our coaches and teammates.”