The Midway Lady Raiders made history Thursday. For the first time, they swept the season series against the traditional volleyball power house from Pender High School.

In a match played at Midway, the host team prevailed in straight sets: 25-13, 25-18, and 25-20.

The Lady Raiders began the day knowing they would be playing without setter Autumn Byrd, due to illness. Coach Jennifer Naylor moved libero Leah Williams to setter and Brittany Watkins to libero. Although there were moments of confusion, the plan worked.

Midway dominated the first set. The Lady Raiders led 8-3 before giving way to an 11-11 tie. From that point, Hannah Lucas took over and served 9 straight points and the visitors didn’t threaten again.

In game 2, Pender made it closer. It was tied at 13 before Midway went on a 12-5 run.

The 3rd set was competitive throughout. The Lady Patriots led early by scores of 7-2 and 11-8. Coach Naylor called a timeout with the home team trailing 18-16. Once again, it was Lucas on the serve that put Midway back in control. Her service, including an ace, got it to 24-18. A Hailey West kill ended the match at 25-20.

“We faced adversity and we moved forward and it worked out for us,” asserted Naylor. “We had never beaten Pender twice in our conference and that was once of our goals for this year. We regrouped and made our goal happen for our program.”

The junior varsity Lady Raiders were also victorious in straight sets. Coach Naylor cited the serves of Blythe Best and the net play of Maddie Royal and Lindsay Naylor.

Midway improves to 11-8 overall and 7-2 in the Four County Conference. They will play at Clinton on Tuesday before hosting Wallace-Rose Hill next Thursday.

By Danny McDowell

Sports Writer

Midway setter Leah Williams prepares to set it up for either Taylor Faircloth or Hailey West in volleyball action Thursday.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_pender-vball-029.jpgMidway setter Leah Williams prepares to set it up for either Taylor Faircloth or Hailey West in volleyball action Thursday.