New-found confidence paying off for Blackmon in her senior season

ASHEBORO — Confidence.

It can be the difference of experiencing just an average high school career or one in which a team truly depends on the player’s abilities. Southwestern Randolph High School senior volleyball player Bailey Blackmon has used the confidence gained from the hard work and dedication she has put into her sport the last number of years to become a vital part of the Cougars’ success.

Going from a player who spent most of her time on the jayvee team during her first two seasons, to one who has seized the opportunity in becoming a focal part of the SWR varsity team, Blackmon has excelled in both kills and blocking.

Blackmon will be one of the key performers the Cougars will count on as they begin state playoff competition this week after completing Four Rivers Conference Tournament play. 

Entering the FRC Tournament, Blackmon and the Cougars were 16-9 overall, 8-2 in the league. SWR had won five in a row and 10 of the last 11 regular-season contests. Blackmon is a big reason for that.

“Bailey came in really green as a freshman,” veteran SWR Coach Darby Kennedy said. “She has put in a lot of time. This past season, getting to play for Triad Elite and some of those kids really pushed her. She’s really come to life. She’s confident with herself, grown into her body and finding ways to be strong at the net. She soaks in everything we say. Her growth from last year to this year has been phenomenal.”

Blackmon, who spent the majority of her first two seasons on jayvee, did experience a sliver of varsity action her first two campaigns, but was called on for a bigger role last year. 

“Last year, she played on the right side quite a bit,” Kennedy said. “Her goal last year was to work on blocks and her block timing. As the season progressed, she did a great job of that.”

Her time with her travel team, her willingness to work and her increased overall ability was evident when her senior year began.

“In the summer, I played for a new travel team and a lot of girls were a lot better, so I worked really hard going 

to three practices a week and workouts twice a week and that prepared me a lot,” said Blackmon, who has been playing volleyball since fifth grade. 

“I finally got a starting spot the last three or four games of my traveling season and then going into this summer, I realized I had to work really hard if I wanted a starting position because we have a lot of really good girls on the team. I came to every workout and it prepared me for how I am now.”

Numbers can sometimes be misleading, but for Blackmon, they show just how much of an improvement she has made from last year and just how much the Cougars depend on her abilities.

In her junior year, she played in a total of 96 sets and recorded 124 kills. This year in 82 sets heading into this week’s action, she had a team-leading 208 kills. She had 82 blocks as a junior and is on pace this year with 72. 

“We talked in the summer about how she had to find herself, she had to score,” Kennedy said. “She’s really aggressive, seeing the block really well. That comes from experience and confidence in herself.

“When she came back this year, we couldn’t ask more of her,” Kennedy added. “She always asks how can I do this better, how can I make this better. Then she goes and does it and continues to do it. She is really moving forward.”

Confidence is a big part of that growth.

“Last year, every time I would do something wrong, I’d be crying,” Blackmon said. “This year, if I mess up, I take it in, but I won’t let it get to me. Next-ball mentality. After you mess up, you can’t think back.”

With the state tournament looming, Kennedy said she will be looking for Blackmon, who is hoping to play volleyball collegiately while pursuing a degree in nursing or radiology, to play a pivotal role.

“She had a great game against Northwood,” Kennedy said of Blackmon’s performance in a late-season FRC match. “She had super confidence, swinging hard and her blocks were on. As we get into these tougher game same confidence and that same ability has to show up in the bigger games.”

The Cougars are now playing “big games.”

“We want to go far, but everyone has to think the same thing and play like we need to play,” Blackmon said. “I think we can do big things.”

And Blackmon would no doubt be a big part of that.