Southern Wayne’s Mylee Wiggs (7) and teammate Jy’Asha Cousins (hidden) block an off-speed shot by East Wake’s Olivia Dudley during first-set play in their Quad County 3A volleyball match Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne setter Taylor Lee saved a loose ball that teammate Jy’Asha Cousins turned into a kill while East Wake’s Erica Rawlings (9) and Olivia Dudley (7) move in defensively to block during a gameTuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Amya Smith (8) and Mylee Wiggs (7) prevent East Wake’s Olivia Dudley (7) from connecting on an off-speed shot Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Jy’Asha Cousins tools a kill off the block of East Wake’s Eric Rawlings (9) while teammate Taylor Lee (5) drops back into blocker coverage Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne setter Taylor Lee dives for a loose ball during second-set play against East Wake on Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Kara Davis (11) sets the ball for teammate Jy’Asha Cousins during third-set play against East Wake on Tuesday afternoon. Cousins finished the game with nine kills and five solo blocks. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne senior Gracie Hinson serves in the third set against Quad County 3A volleyball rival East Wake on Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s players celebrate a block by Jy’Asha Cousins (far left) toward the end of set three against East Wake Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Mylee Wiggs (7) and Gracie Hinson (right) watch as libero Karlie Lane passes the ball to teammate Taylor Lee for an attack play Tuesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Each time East Wake pecked away at Southern Wayne’s multi-point leads throughout Tuesday afternoon, head coach Hannah Sladick didn’t panic.
Instead, she saved the timeout and allowed the Saints to correct their on-court mistakes.
They did.
“Sometimes it depends if it’s usually close, and it wasn’t that close,” Sladick said after a 25-20, 25-14, 25-14 sweep over East Wake. “I had confidence in them. I knew they were going to get this next one [point].”
Jy’Asha Cousins cranked out a team-leading nine kills for the Saints, who won their third consecutive Quad County 3A opener. All three victories have come against East Wake in straight-set fashion.
The Warriors raced in front 4-1 in the opening set.
Cousins warmed up at the net thanks to consistent passing and work from setter Taylor Lee. The three-point deficit quickly turned into a five-point advantage and forced East Wake to call timeout.
The Saints’ ability to touch balls on Warrior attacks allowed them to transition from defense to offense. They created point-scoring opportunities with solid hits or off-speed dumps, which stretched East Wake’s defense.
“Less errors on our part [after early] errors coming from not communicating with each other and playing as a team,” Sladick said of the first-set comeback. “[Overall] I feel like they played good…got better each set.”
Southern Wayne seized command early in the second set.
Multi-point scoring bursts steered double-digit leads. Solid court coverage on defense and attacking “free” balls gave the Saints a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five contest.
Set No. 3 mirrored the second set.
“I just told them they really needed to get it together with less errors on our part,” Sladick said. “[East Wake] is a decent, good team. We’re going to play tougher teams in this conference, so when we do, we’ve got to play harder than we are right now.
“Get that together and carry it over.”
Southern Waynerecorded 22 kills as a team, including four from Mylee Wiggs and three from senior Gracie Hinson. Lee dished out 15 assists for the Saints, who improved to 3-10 in conference-opening outings since 2011.
Wiggs served three aces and collected six digs on defense. Cousins posted a team- and game-high five solo blocks. Hinson and Karlie Lane contributed seven digs apiece. Lesley Elizalde and Kara Davis each served two aces.
Kara Davis doled out three assists.
The Saints (3-1 overall) entertain county rival Eastern Wayne today.
Thursday’s home battle against QCC foe West Johnston has been canceled due to the threat of inclement weather from the remnants of Hurricane Idalia, which battered the northern Florida coast and panhandle Wednesday morning. Wayne County Public Schools officials made the announcement Tuesday evening.
