The Midway and South Johnston volleyball teams met up for the second time this season on Tuesday evening in Spivey’s Corner. The two teams played their first meeting last week with Midway taking the victory in that contest. Monday, they made it 2-for-2.

For much of the first set, the Lady Raiders held the advantage, leading by 3-4 points for a majority of the way. South, however, got themselves together and rallied to tie the game late at 18-18, forcing a Midway timeout.

Out of the timeout, Midway seemed to have settle down, scoring two quick points to go back ahead 20-18. The Lady Trojans came right back and claimed their first lead of the match at 21-20. The Lady Trojans then got to set point, sitting on a lead of 24-21, but Midway reeled off three straight points to force a 24-24 tie and a South Johnston timeout. The timeout proved to be effective as the Lady Trojans scored the final two points to win the first set, 26-24.

Just as on Monday night when they played Lakewood, Midway found themselves in an early hole, trailing 1-0.

The second set begin much like the first one ended with both teams battling it out and trading scores. Reminiscent of Monday night, Leah Williams put together a solid serving performance to help her team build a lead. Midway seemed to have ignited a fire, as the Lady Raiders built decent leads of 14-7 and 18-11. But, South didn’t quit. All of a sudden, the Lady Trojans seem to find a spark, and had clawed back to force a Midway timeout after tying the game up at 19-19. The remainder of the set was tight but Midway was able to grind out the 25-23 win, tying the game up at 1-1.

The contest remained close throughout the third set, as neither team got more than a couple point advantage until the end. With South Johnston embracing a 21-20 lead, Midway called a timeout to assess the situation. It worked. Midway came out of the timeout and reeled of five straight points to win the third set, 25-21.

South Johnston kept fighting in the fourth set, but the Lady Raiders in the end proved to be too much. After absorbing the loss in the opening set, just as they had done on Monday, the Lady Raiders went on to win 3-1 after winning the fourth set 25-19.

After the game, Midway head coach Whitney Lamm reiterated that her team’s focus going forward is hitting and working to cut down on errors.

“We have to work on reducing unforced errors,” Coach Lamm said. “Hitting errors and service errors can make or break close sets.We would also like to work on coming out of the gate stronger than we did tonight, but overall, we are proud of the win. I don’t remember the last time Midway was able to sweep South Johnston.”

Overall, Midway had a solid night from each player on the team. Leah Williams contributed 16 serve points and 31 digs. Autumn Byrd and McKenzie Chavis each had eight serve points and 14 assists. Hannah Lucas had 17 kills and 16 digs and Blythe Best had 10 serve points, six kills, and eight digs. At the net, Alyssa Wrench, Rachel Hodges, and Madee Royal had another solid night for Midway, combining for 15 kills and 16 blocks.

With the win, Midway remains undefeated in the regular season, now sitting at 5-0. They return to action on Thursday as they travel to East Bladen to open up Four County Conference action.

Leah Williams sets the ball for the Lady Raiders.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Leah-Williams-Midway-setter.jpgLeah Williams sets the ball for the Lady Raiders.

By Daron Barefoot

Sports Writer