Seahawks come up with biggest win of year on Senior Night

Published 6:24 pm Tuesday, October 16, 2018

CHOCOWINITY — On a night when the Southside volleyball team honored its graduating players with a pre-game Senior Night Ceremony, the Seahawks continued the festive mood once play began, producing their most convincing win of the season as they beat Jones Senior, 25-8, 25-12, 25-15.

The Seahawks (7-10, 3-6 1A Coastal Plains Conference) came out flying against Jones Senior (0-8, 0-5 1A CPC), scoring the match’s first six points and continually building on their lead further into the first set. The home crowd was providing plenty of energy from the stands in Southside’s final home game of the season, and the Seahawks played as smoothly as they’ve had all season, digging balls out, setting up and hitting the ball back.

“Especially it being our last game (at home), us not having school today, we got more of a turnout so they could see some of the girls’ highlights, because they did play really, really well today. We had errors here and there, but for the most part they did well,” Southside head coach Atyana Starkie said. “I think it was, of course, emotional, because it was their last home game. And I said, ‘If anything, let’s just have fun,’ which I try to say every single game. But this particular game, they took, actually, the time to set up more often than we usually do.”

All the seniors seemingly contributed as Southside breezed through for a three-set win. Hannah Ashby was a force at the net, winning points as well as blocking shots. Jacqueline Wood, with her speed and hustle, left a mark on the game, either by using her track speed to reach balls and keep plays alive or winning points at the net.

Fellow seniors Madison Hudson and Caroline Cutler each hit their fair share of aces in the game, but it was the serving of Logan Braxton that stood out. Braxton’s serves had a low, flat trajectory that barely cleared the net, which, combined with the speed they were hit, gave the Trojans fits all match.

“Her (Braxton) serves are really, really good,” Starkie said. “I think with her, it’s just the consistency. There was another game where she was serving just like that, points back to back. And it’s more, she said she gets nervous. But if she just were to take her time, she would do really, really good.”

The Seahawks wrap up their season tomorrow with a trip down to Pamlico County to take on the Hurricanes (11-2, 8-1 1A CPC).