Emma Clark (13) makes a play at the net on Tuesday night in Catawba Valley Community College’s home victory over Richard Bland on Sophomore Night at the Tarlton Complex. CVCC has won eight straight as it heads to Illinois for a weekend tournament./PHOTO BY CODY DALTON, CATAWBA VALLEY ATHLETICS
HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – After honoring their four sophomores on ‘Sophomore Night’ the Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) women won in straight sets over visiting Richard Bland on Tuesday night in volleyball.
The Red Hawks — ranked No. 14 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll — won 25-23, 25-21, 25-20.
CVCC’s sophomores honored were Na-Diea Atkins of Fayetteville (Pine Forest High), Karsyn Mundy of Claremont (Bunker Hill), Emily Williams of Statesville (North Iredell) and Emilee Webber of Denver, N.C. (North Lincoln).
“I’m really proud of them” CVCC head volleyball coach Shannon Hudson said of the four in a CVCC press release. “I’m glad we got this win for them tonight.”
The Red Hawks (27-8) overcame a 15-10 deficit during the first set, rallying for a two-point win, and CVCC carried that momentum into the second set, winning the first eight points en route to a three-set victory.
“It was a slow start, which seems to be a trend for us, but we bounced back, especially at the end of the first set and going into the second set,” Hudson said in the release. “We started the second set really strong.
“Richard Bland was super physical on the net. They have lots of big hitters. We knew if they got a pass, they were going quick and strong. We tried to force them off the net.”
Emma Clark paced CVCC with 12 kills, six block assists and three aces. Sage Harrington and Meredith Patterson added seven and six kills, respectively.
Defensively, Williams led the Red Hawks with 19 digs, while Paige Sizemore added 14 digs.
Macy Pope made a team-high 16 assists for CVCC, and Webber tallied 15 assists and two aces.
The Red Hawks have won eight straight matches as they head into action this weekend, on Friday and Saturday, for their final four regular-season matches at the Parkland (Ill.) College tournament.
CVCC plays 16th-ranked Division II Lincoln Land Community College at noon Friday followed by a 2 p.m. contest against Sauk Valley Community College.
On Saturday, CVCC faces McHenry County College at 10 a.m. followed by a noon match up with Carl Sandburg College, which received votes in the latest NJCAA Division II poll.