Midway’s Kyleigh Stonerock gets high off the floor on an attack.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Samantha Carter attacks the ball at the net for the Lady Raiders.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
Hosting St. Paul’s in Spivey’s Corner, Midway was looking to wrap up conference play with a perfect mark Tuesday night. The Lady Raiders were also celebrating Senior Night as they closed out their regular season home schedule against the Lady Bulldogs. When the final whistle blew, Midway swept conference play, getting the victory in straight sets, 3-0.
It was five straight points out of the gate for Midway in the first set, which quickly led to a timeout from the visiting Lady Bulldogs. When the action resumed, a Gracyn Hall kill continued the streak before St. Pauls was finally on the board at 7-1. They made it 7-2 and some good, competitive volleyball began to unfold. Still, the Lady Raiders held the advantage, though the Lady Bulldogs were trying to claw back. Instead, Midway gradually rebuilt their lead and reached double digits at 17-7. From there, they’d go on to win the set 25-16.
The second set got off to a much closer start, one that saw St. Pauls briefly lead. After being tied 4-4, the Lady Raiders plowed ahead at 9-4 to yield another St. Pauls timeout. Their run continued out of the break, though, and the lead hit double digits at 14-4. From there, they went on to win the set 25-7 to go up two sets to none.
Continuing their dominating effort in the third, it turned out to be a breeze for the Lady Raiders as they coasted to another blowout win, 25-8.
Now that the regular season is a wrap, Midway will shift their focus to the playoffs, where the Lady Raiders are expected to get another high seed. All season long, they’ve been bouncing back and forth between the number two and number three seed. They conclude the regular season at 18-3 overall and 10-0 in conference play, but will have to wait until Sunday to find out where exactly they land. Regardless, they should enjoy at least a couple games at home.
Having reached the East Regional finals three years in a row, Midway’s team is wondering if this can be the year they finally climb the hurdle and break through into a state championship appearance.
“We have to focus on the basics as we prepare for playoffs,” head Coach Susan Clark said. “We have to clean up our game some. The girls have been having fun and playing hard but the playoffs are always intense so we have to get our minds right and stay focused.”
With the NCHSAA having extended the volleyball season by a few days to help the schools affected by Hurricane Helene, Midway did try to add one final non-conference game late this week. Unfortunately, those plans fell through and the Lady Raiders will have had a full week off before the playoffs kick off on Tuesday. Clark was worried about the long break, acknowledging that somehow her team needs to stay fresh, saying “We need to keep up the energy as we prepare for one team at a time.”
In years past, it has been Camden County at the top of the standings and representing the East. While that still could be the case later on, they are currently positioned around the number five spot while one-loss Ayden-Grifton sits at the top and appears to be the team to beat.