KING — West Stokes’ volleyball team opened their 2024 season with an exciting 3-2 win over rival South Stokes on Monday, Aug. 12, giving Jordan Stevens his 167th career win at the school.
Newly named South Stokes’ coach Baylee Cooper had her squad ready for the challenge as they took game one 25-19 behind Olivia Amos’ seven aces in the set.
The Sauras’ Payton Bowman and Jade Bullins combined for a block giving the visitors a 1-0 advantage and a lead they would hold the entire set.
Amos served three consecutive aces making it 4-0 before Maddie Childress recorded her first of 22 kills in the game for West Stokes.
South Stokes extended their lead to 6-1 behind an ace by Bullins. The Sauras held their biggest lead at 17-9 before Stevens called a timeout.
The Wildcats closed the gap to two points on three different occasions at 19-17, 20-18 and 21-19 before South scored the set’s last four points, with the last two coming from aces by Amos.
In set two, West Stokes dominated the match, winning 25-11.
The Wildcats trailed 5-3 and scored the next three points from Leah Grace Whitt’s ace, a block by Addie Willard and a block out of bounds by South.
West extended their lead to 13-7 before Presley Barker took the serving line. She served 10 consecutive balls before a combo block by Bullins and Bowman ended the Wildcats run with them leading 21-8. Emmerson Adams closed out the set with West Stokes fifth ace of the set.
Game three was back and forth until the Cats took a 17-12 lead and looked as if it was going to close the set out. South Stokes closed the match to 19-16 when Cooper brought senior Tessa Brim off the bench to serve. Brim served the game’s next seven times, helping her team to a 21-20 advantage.
West Stokes tied the match at 21-21 with a side out from South, but then a kill by junior Tianna Corum and a hitting error by the Wildcats gave the Sauras a 23-21 lead. A serving error by the visitors made it 23-22, but a block by Amos gave South Stokes a 24-22 margin. A misfire by the Wildcats gave the Sauras a 25-23 win in set three.
West Stokes took a 2-1 lead in the fourth set before falling behind. The team caught the Sauras at 10-10 before taking a 16-12 advantage behind Whitt’s kill. The visitors closed the score to 18-17 before West scored seven of the game’s next eight points and won 25-18.
In the final set, West Stokes sprinted out to a five point lead on three different occasions at 10-5, 11-6 and 12-7. South Stokes closed to 12-12 and took a one point advantage on a hitting error by the Wildcats. An assist and kill by Barker and Scarlett Smith tied the game at 13-13, and then an ace by Addie Willard made it 14-13. A hitting error by South Stokes ended the game at 15-13 and gave West Stokes the come-from-behind victory.
Childress led the Wildcats with 22 kills, 20 digs, and three aces, with Corum pacing the Sauras with 13 kills, five digs, and an ace.
Smith and Addie Willard recorded 10 kills each for the Cats, while Rebecca Amos also had 10 for the Sauras.
Adams had 24 digs for West and Bullins recorded 21 for South.
Olivia Amos served up 25 assists and eight aces for the visitors, while Barker recorded 45 assists for the home team. Barker now has 1,678 career assists drawing her to within 356 of breaking Jaden Tuttle’s (21) career mark of 2,034. Barker already owns the Wildcats’ career mark with Tuttle only securing 1,305 of her assists at West Stokes, while the others came from her first two years at North Stokes.
The Wildcats (1-0) will host Mount Tabor on Wednesday, Aug. 14, and then travel to Surry Central on Monday, Aug. 19. The Sauras (0-1) will travel to Bethany (0-2) on Wednesday and then to Bishop McGuinness on Monday.
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