Miley McLamb returns the ball.
David Johnson|Sampson Independent
Morgan Smith returns the ball for the Spartans.
David Johnson|Sampson Independent
Union’s Emelie Reyna bumps the ball to set up a return.
David Johnson|Sampson Independent
Cassie Driver stuffs the ball on Union’s Tijaya Goodman.
David Johnson|Sampson Independent
The Lady Spartans invaded Wildcat Country last Thursday night, traveling up to Newton Grove to battle with Hobbton on the volleyball court. A recent roadtrip left the previously undefeated Lady Wildcats with a pair of losses and they were hungry to get a new win streak going. They were able to accomplish that goal on Thursday, getting a sweeping three sets to none win over the visitors to improve their record.
The Lady Wildcats drew first blood in the opening set, getting the first two scores to go up 2-0. A serve into the net ended the run, making it 2-1, before Hobbton resumed their scoring streak. They went on to open a lead of 10-3 which proved to be enough for a Union timeout. When play resumed, the Lady Wildcats continued to grow their lead to 12-3 before the Lady Spartans could tally again. After that, a couple scores drew Union closer but Hobbton was the better team in the first set as they staked a 25-12 victory to go up 1-0.
The second set began much more competitively as both teams traded jabs. Scores of 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5 suggested that this set was going to be much closer. Indeed, the teams continued this trading of scores, neither one able to pull away in what was good, entertaining volleyball. Even after the Lady Spartans opened a 2-score lead, the Lady Wildcats reeled them back in and tied things back up at 12-12.
What had been a 12-10 lead for Union quickly dissolved to a 16-12 deficit as the Lady Spartans were forced to call for timeout. Out of the break, Hobbton continued to expand their lead, connecting on consecutive scores to make it 18-12. Back came Union, though, as they got a trio of consecutive points to get back to within 18-15. They drew even closer at 19-18, which was good enough for the Lady Wildcats to now ask for a timeout.
When the action picked back up, a couple of bad hits for the Lady Spartans aided Hobbton in reclaiming control. Union then turned to mistaking balls landing in-bounds that they thought were headed out. As a result, the Lady Wildcats reaped the benefits and scored the final six points of the set to win 25-18.
Now up 2-0, Hobbton was looking to close things out, starting the third set with a 3-0 lead. After Union tallied a couple points, the Lady Wildcats hit a streak that propelled their lead to 8-2, prompting a quick timeout from the Lady Spartans. When the game resumed, Hobbton continued to pull away, getting several more scores to hit a double-digit lead of 12-2. From there, the home team continued to pile on the points, reaching a lead of 18-5 as the game was quickly approaching its end. Before that happened, though, Union did get some more scoring in before ultimately succumbing by the final margin of 25-10.
With their 3-0 victory secured, the Lady Wildcats improve to 10-2 on the season and are 2-2 in conference. They have a pair of home games next week, taking on North Duplin on Tuesday and Rosewood on Thursday.
For the Lady Spartans, they are now 0-14 on the season and are 0-4 in conference. Coming up for them is also a couple home games on Tuesday and Thursday, first up against Neuse Charter followed by Lakewood.