Catawba Valley Community College’s women celebrate after winning another regional title — their eighth in school history — and earning another berth in the national tournament later this month in Charleston, W. Va./PHOTO BY CODY DALTON, CATAWBA VALLEY ATHLETICS
HobbsDailyReport.com
KINSTON – For the eighth time in school history, the national volleyball playoffs await the Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) won.
The Red Hawks (33-9) earned another berth over the weekend at Lenoir Community College by going unbeaten (5-0) to capture the Region X/District O championship.
CVCC defeated Walters State 25-17, 25-18, 25-12 on Saturday, advancing to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II tournament on Nov. 14-17 in Charleston, W. Va.
CVCC’S SEASON RESULTS: http://gocvcc.com/sports/wvball/2018-19/schedule
“I knew at the beginning of the year that we had the talent that we needed to make it back nationals this year,” CVCC head volleyball coach Shannon Hudson said in a CVCC press release. “It was just whether the girls believed in our program and our systems and trusted each other enough to do the little things, and they did.
“They played so well together in this last match today. I was really proud of them.”
The Red Hawks reached the tournament finals with a 3-0 victory against No. 4 Pitt Community College to open the tournament on Saturday (25-16, 25-15, 25-18).
Region X Player of the Year Emma Clark led CVCC with 11 kills, while fellow freshman Meredith Patterson added 10 kills.
With No. 3 Walters State (Region 7 champion) upsetting No. 2 Surry (Region X regular-season runner-up) in the other tournament semifinal, the Red Hawks automatically clinched a seventh straight and 11th overall Region X championship.
CVCC seized control early and often against Walters State, only trailing for a handful of times.
“We tried to stay really aggressive with our serve and put pressure on every ball,” Hudson said in the press release. “It’s tough to get (Walters State) out of system with the way they run their setters.
“We knew what we had to do. We had a good game plan going in, and we executed it well.”
Patterson had a team-high 13 kills in the championship final. Emma Clark and Rachel Delcamp added eight and seven kills, respectively, and the Red Hawks recorded 10 aces, including two each from Delcamp, Emily Williams, Madison Bolch and tournament MVP Emilee Webber.
Webber, Emily Williams and Macy Pope — all captains — were named to the All-Region X/District O tournament team.