Rosewood junior middle hitter Avery Ramsey, left, attempts a kill over North Duplin’s Tateyawna Faison and a teammate during early-match play Thursday evening. Faison got a touch on the ball. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
CALYPSO — The casual observer may think Rosewood experienced little trouble during its three-set sweep over North Duplin on Thursday evening.
The final result is undoubtedly misleading.
Boasting the top offense on the Carolina 1A Conference scene with 342 kills as a team this season, the Eagles worked up a sweat to put points on the scoreboard. The Rebels countered with a gritty display of determination and hustle after loose balls.
“Yeah, they gave us fits,” RHS head coach Tonya Sittig said after the 25-18, 25-17, 25-14 victory.
“They are a very good defensive team … pick up anything you can [attempt to] put down. For some reason our girls weren’t ready for that and I told them you’ve got to be ready for anything against a good defensive team.
“You have to be ready for the ball to come back at any time.”
The Rebels entered the mid-season conference affair ranked No. 1 in two categories – total team digs and digs per match. As expected, they covered their side of the court like a blanket against the Eagles, who found rare open space.
North Duplin logged 59 digs on the night.
In 12 outings this season, the Rebels have recorded 40-plus digs as a team nine times, including 60 or more on three occasions.
“I knew Rosewood was a strong offensive team … a very good team overall,” ND head coach Heather Best said. “We talked about working on our defensive coverage and I thought we did a really good job of it tonight. Some of them [RHS kills] got by us, but I was just pleased with our defense.”
Rosewood racked up 34 kills — some were overpass putaways, while others were tooled off North Duplin block attempts. Consistent touches Iala Overton (seven digs), libero Marissa Bernal (15 digs) and setter Lilly Fulghum (11 digs) kept the Eagles from developing any offensive rhythm.
North Duplin middle hitter Tateyawna Faison, who sat out lat season, posted a career-high nine solo blocks. She missed working alongside front-row attacker Eva Quintanilla, who played sparingly with an injured right knee.
The Eagles racked up 34 kills, but finished with a .154 hitting percentage, which is below their season average.
“They have a very tremendous offense with [Jessica] Fones and [middle hitter] Avery [Ramsey],” Best said. “I felt like we played defense most of the game, which makes it hard for us to set up on offense. And when we did set something up, they dug it very well … some balls I thought we had down and they came flying back.
“That shows how scrappy that team is.”
Faison and Quintanilla combined for six of the Rebels’ 12 kills.
Carrly Strickland and Abigeal Norris Brown served four aces apiece.
Fulghum distributed 11 assists.
Sittig said part of her game plan was to serve to Fulghum, which took the junior setter out of the offense. The strategy allowed the Eagles to seize momentum in the middle stages of each set.
“She’s fantastic and any time you can take her out of the play, it’s going to be ‘game on’ for us,” Sittig said. “It definitely helps when we can do that. Not all of our players can spot [the serve] like that, but if you can, you might as well take them out and use it to your advantage.”
Rosewood (14-2 overall, 4-0 Carolina) claimed its sixth consecutive win over North Duplin. The Rebels (7-5, 2-2) begin a three-match, conference road swing next Tuesday at Hobbton.
You may reach sports writer Rudy Coggins at prepswriter2@gmail.com or call/text 919-709-9257.
