Pisgah jettisons Rockets for first win of season

Aug. 25—The Pisgah volleyball team has had a tough start to the year after a playoff win last season.

In fact, the Lady Bears have posted playoff wins in both of their last two seasons. The stretch featured the first winning season since 2014 and the first playoff win since 2017. It also marked the first time the program had won a playoff game in consecutive seasons since winning two in 2006 and one in 2007.

This 2023 season has not started as swimmingly for the ladies from Canton, however. In their first week back on the hardwood, Pisgah lost three matches: at home to Polk County, on the road at Swain County and back at home against Cherokee. The Bears did not claim a single set in these three matches.

"Every day we get better and better," Pisgah head coach Katie O'Connor said. "We can't settle. Every time we step on that court, we have to work to get better."

On Monday, Pisgah welcomed A.C. Reynolds into town for the Lady Bears' fourth match. The Rockets came into the meeting with a winless record of their own after a loss to West Henderson, which boasts five state titles its program history and is tied for fifth most in North Carolina history.

Going back to 2009, the Rockets held a 5-0 record over the Bears, having never given up more than a single set to their county neighbors.

That all changed with their meeting to start the week, as Pisgah earned win No. 1 of the season with a 3-0 sweep of Reynolds.

"This was a huge boost for us. It can be defeating to lose, but we're such a young team," O'Connor said. "I'm really proud of the girls, and I think they're proud of themselves after coming out with a sweep today."

Lady Bears start hot

Pisgah came out of the gates hot, taking the first two points on aces from senior Meredith Collins, who also played a big role closer to the net, setting up teammates for important kills.

"Meredith [Collins] stepped up," O'Connor said. "We had her play setter tonight, and she did a really good job. She's one of our captains. Setter's a big role to have. She filled it well tonight."

The first set was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams finding runs to put themselves up a few points before the other team would get hot.

Senior Aven Thompson scored an ace to get Pisgah to 20 before Reynolds equalized on the next play.

"Aven [Thompson] had some really good digs," O'Connor said. "She was being really scrappy back there. She even hit a lot, more than usual. She was really taking care of the ball."

From there, a pair of mistakes for Reynolds, two aces for junior Rylee Campbell and a kill from senior Jayden Moore put the first set away 25-20 with a 5-0 run.

Set two started with the momentum of the run continued as Pisgah jumped out to a 5-1 early lead. Reynolds continued to stick around. The Rockets pushed it back to a two-point game at 7-5 before Pisgah pushed it back out to 10-5.

The battle continued, with Reynolds claiming their first set lead at 16-15. The Lady Rockets got their lead as high as two with a 20-18 lead. Pisgah then rattled off four straight to make it 22-20 before Reynolds called timeout.

A service error for Moore out of the stoppage gave Reynolds life again, but it was short-lived as Pisgah claimed the final three points, took set two 25-21 and went up 2-0 in the match.

Junior Mable James was clutch in the closing points of set two, grabbing two blocks and a kill in the final six points for the Bears.

"She's such a beast," O'Connor said. "She's a wall up there. It's good for our momentum to have her up there. She's such a positive player. You just can't ask for more."

Pisgah closes it out

The third set saw Pisgah take its first points of the set, going up 2-0.

As in the earlier sets, Reynolds found a way to answer back with a run, claiming an 8-4 lead before the Bears called a timeout.

That timeout was just what the Bears needed to get dialed back in. Reynolds committed an error, followed by two kills from James and three aces from Campbell. Just like that, the Bears had reclaimed the lead at 10-8 and forced a timeout from the Rockets.

Coming out of that timeout, Pisgah continued to pour it on, extending its lead to 17-12. This is where the Rockets found their spark again, scoring four straight to force a timeout from the Lady Bears, who led 17-16.

The timeout did not stop the Rockets, however, as they went up 19-17 before a 3-0 run from the Bears forced another Reynolds timeout at 20-19.

Pisgah did not let its foot off the gas the rest of the way, scoring five straight out of the break, including a pair of kills from James for the final two points. Pisgah took set three 25-19 to close out the sweep on an 8-0 run.

O'Connor said the key to the team's win was the team doing a better job of working as a unit rather than individuals.

"Just better teamwork and better communication made all the difference in the world," she said. "That was our struggle the first three games, so it's good to see it all come together."

Pisgah now has to find a way to build off of this momentum as the season gets rolling and the real season — conference play — begins.

"This was good for us," O'Connor said. "It showed us where we've been improving. We're just going to continue every time we step into this gym and keep working because there's always room for improvement."