Uwharrie Charter finishes runnerup for the state 4-A volleyball championship

BUIES CREEK — Volleyball is a game of momentum and for most of the NCHSAA state 4-A championship last Friday at the Gilbert Craig Gore Arena on the Campbell University campus, momentum belonged to Lake Norman Charter.

Despite a valiant effort from Uwharrie Charter Academy, which evened the best-of-five match at one set apiece, it was the Knights who grabbed that momentum for the rest of the way in capturing their second straight state title by defeating UCA, 25-21, 23-25, 25-15, 25-11.

The win gave LNC a final record of 31-1 with the Knights losing just nine sets all season long. UCA finishes 28-5 after another impressive campaign led by a group of talented seniors and head coach Lee Kennell.

“I learned so much about this group, the resilience,” Kennell said after the four-set setback. “We went through some adversity this year in all shapes and forms. I am super proud of them.

“Everyone doubted us this year and we got to play for a state championship. For two years in a row, this group of seniors got to play for a state championship.”

In finishing 28-5, the only losses the Eagles had were to 3-A state champion North Stanly, Reagan, which played for the 7-A state championship, 4-A state champion Lake Norman Charter and two to Southwestern Randolph, which finished 23-7 after going unbeaten in conference play. UCA avenged the SWR losses with a straight-set win in the conference post-season tournament.

It wasn’t always a smooth journey to the state championship, but one that included overcoming injuries, position switches and going through the entire season with the proverbial bullseye on their backs.

With seven seniors on the roster, the Eagles have shown to be one of the top programs in the state.

“If anything, we made a name for ourselves in North Carolina,” Kennell said. “We started in this little school with a net hanging from a plywood wall to a plywood wall and we just played for two state championships.”

The Knights were able to put together numerous point streaks throughout the match, none more important than a 10-0 run in Game 3 with the score tied at 7-7.

“For us it’s more playing our game,” LNC coach Bethany Kiley said. “I don’t like to focus on who is across the net. If we play our game, we’re unstoppable. We try and look inwardly and play our game to the best of our ability.”

Both teams loved the fast pace, but a balanced front line attack from LNC’s London Stewart, a high-leaping 5-foot-4-inch dynamo who was the most valuable player in last year’s state title win, Finley Fay, Julia Pacitto and this year’s most valuable player, Libero Danielle Lewis, offset anytime the Eagles got something  going.

UCA did have a seven-point run in the first set to tie the score at 21-21, but a four-point run by the Knights gave them the early lead.

UCA trailed 21-13 in the second set before rallying behind Caroline Way, Carly Rush, Mackenzie Cain, Amya Brewer, Kameron Leach and Alyvia Spinks to even the match at 1-1. “The biggest thing was being aggressive and continuing to swing,” said Spinks, the UCA setter who had 25 assists and nine digs in the match.

The second-set comeback win by the Eagles seemed to “frazzle” the Knights.

“You can tell we got a little frazzled in that second

set and we do that,” Kiley said. “If we’re going to do it, it’s in the second set. It’s like we go into auto pilot and you can’t do that. They were able to lock in and we had a goal. I kept reminding them to trust yourself and trust your teammates.”

LNC was dominant in the final two sets, using its big 10-point run to run away with the third set and finishing out the win with an even more dominating performance in the fourth set.

The Eagles had difficulty in the serve receiving department as the Knights recorded 15 aces.

“They were serving short quite a bit and we had a tough time adjusting to their short serves,” Kennell said. “Lack of communication at times. When you’re playing on the big stage, it kind of gets in your head a bit. It happens. That’s a good team.”

Way had 14 kills, 12 digs and two blocks, while Rush had 10 kills and 14 digs and Brewer had six kills.

UCA’s Spinks and LNC’s Fay were honored as the NCHSAA’s sportsmanship winners before the match.