By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
Samantha Smith, Amber Alligood, Ashley Klann and manager Ebonee Tuten were all honored on Senior Night prior to Washington’s volleyball game against West Carteret.
The Patriots spoiled the festivities with a sweep, taking a 25-8, 25-22, 25-5 victory on Thursday. Washington fell to 0-16 overall and 0-14 in the conference.
West Carteret took control early in the first game, rattling off 14 consecutive points to grab a 20-4 lead. Erin O’Reilly put down a couple powerful kills to control the net.
The Pack regrouped and played much stronger in the second game. Washington threatened to even the match, but the Patriots used a late run at the end of the game to take the win.
A vicious smash by Smith tied the game at 3. Washington took an 8-7 lead on a serve by Klann, who helped give Washington a 10-7 advantage with two more service points.
The lead grew to seven (16-9) thanks to an ace from Alligood. A huge kill by Julee Brown stymied Washington’s run. West Carteret’s Jill Odum proceeded to serve up seven consecutive points, giving the Patriots a 19-17 advantage.
Thanks to some hot serving from Smith, Washington recaptured the lead at 22-19. It seemed as though the Pack had the momentum it needed.
So does Brown, whose wallop stopped Washington’s run. Brown then served up the final five points of the game to give West Carteret a 2-0 lead.
It was all West Carteret in the third game. Lauren Miller got the ball rolling with eight straight points for a 9-2 advantage. Megan Mansfield’s serving helped the Patriots push their lead to 18-4.
Odum tallied the final six points for the Patriots.
Washington will look to make some noise in the Coastal Conference tournament, which begins Saturday.
JV falls in two
The junior varsity Pam Pack team fell 25-23, 25-20. Alex Everette led Washington with 11 points and an ace. Jazzmine Gibbs had seven points and two kills, Brandi Hardison seven points, Haley Hiatt seven points, Kelly Jones six points and Lilyann Arnold five points and two kills.
Northside wins thriller over Southside
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
YEATESVILLE — The Northside volleyball team celebrated its senior night in historic fashion as it topped Southside for the first time in the school’s history with a thrilling 3-2 victory on Thursday.
While the Panthers honored their seniors, it was underclassman Amanda Beirne who was the X-factor in game five as she came up big at net down the stretch.
Beirne made key blocks and kills throughout the final match and also came up with a pivotal ace when it was her turn to serve.
After Northside’s 26-24, 15-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-10 victory, Wagaman said she was thrilled her team could end the season with a win on senior night.
Seahawks’ coach Elizabeth Pruden was unavailable to comment after the game.
Down 2-1, it was the Seahawks who were able to prolong the match as it forced a fifth game with a 25-19 win, but they could not keep their momentum going in the final game.
Both teams came out of the gate battling, as they played a hotly contested game one. Neither team was able to pull ahead by more than three points, while they managed to tie 10 times.
The Seahawks were able to overcome some late errors to pull even with the Panthers at 22. A Gabby Cilluffo ace gave Southside a one point advantage, but Northside rallied back to take a 26-24.
Southside answered back in game two with an impressive 25-15 win to knot the match at a game a piece. The Seahawks opened up the game by taking a 7-2 lead.
Northside clawed back to tie the score at 11, but Southside ripped off a 14-4 run to close out the game.
Seahawks’ net players Chelsi Chandler and Daneilya Whitney made an impact up front, while Cilluffo and Catilyn Bogart picked up some points with their rocket serves.
The Panthers won a pivotal game three 25-20. Senior Lauren Rodriguez had a monster game to put the Panthers up 2-1.
Down 4-2 early, Rodriguez spurred a 5-0 run by nailing three aces to help Northside take a 7-4 lead; one the Panthers would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
Rodriguez came up big time after time by making clutch digs and helped the net players with pinpoint accurate sets.
Benefiting from the sets where hitters, and fellow seniors, Tiffany Jackson, Lauren Fletcher and Casey Alligood. The trio played consistently strong up front to neutralize the Seahawks’ strong net play.
Wagaman praised Rodriguez’s effort after the game.
Wagaman also cited her senior class for their strong play and thanked them for easing her transition to Northside.
The two rival will meet again on Monday with much more than bragging rights on the line as they are set to battle in the first round of the Atlantic Conference tournament.
Though they both finished the season with the a 7-10 record, the Seahawks hold the edge in the tie breaker and will be seeded second, while the Panthers will be the third seed.
The two teams will resume their rivalry Monday at 4:30 at Williamston High School.