The Lady Dark Horses volleyball team fell on Monday to the Eastern Wayne Warriors, losing in a five-set battle just as they they did in the teams’ first meeting this season.

Each set was a close back-and-forth fight, one that ultimately saw the Warriors claim victory again in the rematch.

“It was a tough loss to take. We usually split with them, but they won both times this go-around,” said head coach Jennifer Edgerton. “This loss was especially hard because I used to coach some of those girls and even the coaches of Eastern Wayne are old players of mine. That’s one of the only good things about tonight is seeing some of my old players playing well.”

“Though this loss was a non-conference loss and our conference record is much better than our overall record, this is still hard taking another loss,” Edgerton added.

The Horses saw success early as they were able to strike first and take set one, 25-22. Eastern Wayne bounced back in the second set, taking the longest set of the night, 30-28. The Warrior rode that momentum into the third set, winning 25-20. The Horses then rallied, winning set four by the biggest deficit of the night, 25-18.

The match then went into the fifth and final set. The Horses went down early, but fought their way back tying the game at 10-10 as the crowd erupted after each kill. However, it would be all Eastern Wayne from then on as they scored five unanswered points to end the match.

Though the match went on, the weather still played a factor in throwing off Clinton.

“I was really nervous going into this game. The officials made us come out and warm up faster than we normally do,” said Edgerton. “They also told us to play faster than we were used to because the weather could have gotten bad. We ended up playing rushed because of that and it really threw us off our game.”

“Regardless of that, we still need to work on our serving, blocks and overall coverage,” Edgerton concluded.

Performance leaders for the Dark Horses include Addie Sessoms, with 23 kills to go along with three aces. Taylor Spell had 17 kills, Naomi Miller finished the night with 11 digs and Jasmine Ford led in blocks with nine solos.

With the non-conference loss, the Horses fall to 4-6 overall but remain tied in the conference at 2-1. They will travel to Wallace Rose-Hill for an away conference match on Thursday. The Lady Horses’ match against Spring Creek, originally scheduled for Tuesday, was rescheduled to Sept. 25 due to weather concerns.

Clinton’s Taylor Spell goes for a kill in the Lady Horses’ five-set battle against Eastern Wayne.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_DSC_1044.jpgClinton’s Taylor Spell goes for a kill in the Lady Horses’ five-set battle against Eastern Wayne.

Clinton’s Jasmine Ford prepares for one her many blocks on Monday night.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_DSC_1024.jpgClinton’s Jasmine Ford prepares for one her many blocks on Monday night.
Horses fall to Eastern Wayne in second five-set battle

By Michael Hardison

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