WHS volleyball winners of eight-straight

PINETOPS — Sophomore setters Briley Waters and Sarah Lynch recorded 19 assists a piece in a sweep of Southwest Edgecombe Tuesday evening, as the Washington volleyball team picked up its eighth-straight regular season win.

“It’s really exciting that we are undefeated in the conference,” said head coach Kelly Slade. “This is the first time that me and the group of seniors have gone this far without losing. This has just been work in progress since I’ve been here and since they’ve been here as freshmen.”

In a dominant performance from the Pam Pack that featured 37 kills, 40 assists, eight blocks and six aces, Slade was able to give most of her roster significant playing time in the 3-0 win.

The first game of the match proved to be the most competitive, as the Pam Pack and Cougars went back-and-forth, exchanging a series of runs early. On the back of Waters’ seven assists and senior hitter Adriana Tyson’s six kills, Washington secured a crucial Game 1 victory, 25-22, that set the tone for the remainder of the evening.

“Sarah Lynch and Briley Waters are both sophomore setters and have really come in and done an outstanding job on varsity,” Slade said. “They’re getting a lot of playing time and coming up with a lot of really big assists for us. They’re just really stepping up to the plate, doing their job and doing it well.”

The duo powered the Pam Pack through the second game, recording seven assists each to compliment Tyson’s eight kills. The early lead gave Slade the opportunity to test different rotations, as Washington came through with a 25-16 victory.

“All the hits are improving, all the assists are improving and they’re where we want to be,” Slade. “We’re never going to be a 10, but we’re always striving to be a 10. We took today’s game as an opportunity to get better placing hits and serves. Even thought it was a 3-0 win, it was a very good learning experience for us.”

The match acting as a perfect paradigm to the season as a whole, Washington held the opposition to just 13 points in the final game, locking up the victory.

Tyson finished with a game-high 21 kills, two aces and three blocks, while senior Abby Walker also notched 10 kills, two aces and two blocks.

With the win, the Pam Pack stays undefeated in the Eastern Plains Conference and their overall record improves to 11-6.

“Our team this season and our program wouldn’t be where it is right now if it wasn’t for this group of seniors,” Slade said. “They’ve really come through and helped me turn this program around, helping build a culture. There’s no way I could have done that by myself. These five seniors are the foundation to the program.”

Washington will face off against Beddingfield today at 6 p.m. before playing host to the Northside Panthers next week.