Southern Wayne senior middle hitter Jy’Asha Cousins, left, dumps the ball over Eastern Wayne’s T’Mya Parker during opening-set action Thursday evening in Dudley. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Southern Wayne controlled the tempo and easily dispatched county volleyball rival Eastern Wayne in the opening set Thursday afternoon.
The gritty Warriors refused to go away, however.
Still trying to discover their identity, the Saints managed to rally from second- and third-set deficits during a 25-13, 26-24, 25-17 victory.
Jy’Asha Cousins delivered a 10-kill performance for Southern Wayne, which picked up its fifth consecutive victory in the series.
The three-set sweep was a reversal of Tuesday’s season-opening loss at annual powerhouse Princeton.
“So, a big thing us for against Princeton was serve receive,” third-year Saints head coach Hannah Walker said. “We had a lot of errors on serve receive, couldn’t get the pass to our setter and we were missing a key player as well. We tried to work around that.
“Now, everything is back to normal.”
The Saints’ Jurnae Ammons closed out a dominate opening set with a kill – one of three on the night.
Deadlocked at 7-all in the second set, the Saints grabbed a seemingly comfortable 15-8 lead. Taylor Lee served a couple of aces, Cousins proved unstoppable at the net and the Warriors obliged with a couple of unforced errors.
However, the momentum shifted.
Eastern Wayne (0-2 overall) used its defense and service game to pull ahead 17-16. Riley Lundergan tied the set at 16-16 with an ace and the Saints committed a ball-handling miscue on their next possession.
“A lot of errors on our part,” Walker said. “We kind of locked up [mentally]. I told the girls they got tight, they weren’t playing relaxed and weren’t putting the ball over. I told them we had to put the ball over and be smart.
“That was the first step.”
The Warriors grabbed their biggest lead, 22-18, after the Saints mishandled a ball in the deep left corner.
The Saints’ offense caught fire on Mylee Wiggs’ kill off Lee’s assist. The connection from the outside pin sparked a set-clinching, 8-2 run that included three kills from Cousins.
Set three mirrored the end of set two.
Cousins’ off-speed dump to midcourt off Lee’s assist created the seventh tie of the set at 11-11. Another Cousins kill, Lee’s service ace and an unforced Eastern Wayne miscue gave the Saints a little breathing room.
A service error halted the run.
But Morgan Brimberry’s kill from the right-side pin re-ignited the Saints’ offense. Cousins dialed up a couple of aces. The teams traded unforced errors before Wiggs sealed the outcome with a match-clinching ace.
“Once we got locked in, we were able to pull away, get some momentum going [with] kills and a few good serves,” Walker said. “There weren’t many balls to play defense on, but what we did get I felt like we were able to capitalize on that. We have to work staying on our toes.”
Wiggs collected eight kills and Lee passed out 12 assists, which helped lead Southern Wayne to its fourth straight three-set shutout of Eastern Wayne. The Warriors lead the series 13-12 since 2007.
Southern Wayne (1-1) returns home Monday for a non-conference battle with county foe Goldsboro. The Saints and Warriors meet again Sept. 22 in New Hope.
You may reach sports writer Rudy Coggins at prepswriter2@gmail.com or call/text 919-709-9257.
