Warlassies cruise to round two

Owen volleyball opens NCHSAA 2A playoffs with 3-0 win at home

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 25, 2022

The opening round of the NCHSAA 2A State Volleyball Playoffs is complete and the Warlassies are heading to round two, following a 3-0 victory over Walkertown, Oct. 22.

Owen, which finished the regular season with a 14-7 record to earn an 11th seed in the tournament, overwhelmed the 22nd seeded Wolfpack, 25-12, 25-16 and 25-23, as they opened the postseason in front of a home crowd. The team will travel to West Stanly to face the 6th seeded Colts at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 25.

The Warlassies entered the playoff match three days after closing the regular season campaign with a 3-0 win over Erwin, winning three of their last four contests. The team gave up the first point to Walkertown, but battled back to a 2-1 advantage, which increased throughout the opening set.

Led by seniors Addison Bartlett, Carly Hancock, Maesyn Gardner, Payton McDonald and Cole Christian, Owen established a 17-10 lead around the midpoint of the first set before outscoring the Wolfpack, 8-2, to seal the victory.

The visiting team managed to pick up an early 3-2 lead in the subsequent set, but three straight McDonald aces gave the Warlassies a 7-3 advantage, leading to a Walkertown timeout. Owen’s lead was cut to 2, as it regrouped to outscore the Wolfpack, 16-8, on its way to a two-set advantage.

The final set tested the home team, which fought off a late Walkertown run to sweep the match. The victory marked the beginning of what head coach Kristy Kamer believes could be a long playoff journey.

“Our expectations are to come in and win,” the head coach said, following the postseason win. “It’s do or die right now, so really we should be dominating, because this is a very talented team.”

Battling through complacency, which was a factor in the final set of the opening round match, according to Kamer, will be one of the keys to the team’s success.

“What I think it came down do is that they were just playing to play, instead of playing to win in that last set,” she said. “During the timeout I told them they had to get it going now. They can beat anybody on the other side of the net, as long as they put everything together.”

Photos of the Warlassies opening round NCHSAA 2A State Volleyball Playoffs victory over Walkertown can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.