Bandys, N-C battle to weather-shortened 0-0 tie in soccer
HobbsDailyReport.com
Hickory High kept its chance of sharing a Northwestern 3A-4A volleyball title alive on Monday night by beating visiting Freedom 3-0.
The Red Tornadoes prevailed 25-19, 25-13, 25-10 to move to 12-1 in the conference, staying one game back of Watauga.
Hickory goes to Watauga on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. match that closes the league schedule. The Red Tornadoes had a two-set lead on the Pioneers in their match at Hickory earlier in the season but Watauga rallied to win 3-2.
Hickory must win in Boone to share the title.
If there is a tie for the title, HHS and Watauga would have to determine how to break it (for the No. 1 3A state playoff bid), as the league does not have a conference tournament.
Conferences must inform the North Carolina High School Athletic Association of its state playoff teams by Oct. 18, leaving time for a potential tie-breaking match if needed.
The tie could not be broken by comparing head-to-head records by Hickory and Watauga because they both are 2-0 against every other conference team.
South Caldwell (3-10) and McDowell (4-9) are the only 4A schools in the league and they play on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Marion.
McDowell beat South Caldwell 3-1 on Sept. 18 in Hudson.
Freedom (3A) could also finish 4-10 and create a three-way tie for fifth place.
St. Stephens 3, McDowell 0
Grace Brennan, Rylee Baker, Neila King and Rachel Merrill led the Indians to a 25-13, 25-16, 25-22 home win over the Titans in Hickory.
Brennan had two aces, eight digs and 28 assists and Baker added two aces. King made 17 kills and Merrill had 13 as the Indians (11-10, 8-5) won. They share third place with Alexander Central.
St. Stephens closes its conference schedule Wednesday at 6 p.m. at last-place West Caldwell.
McDowell fell to 4-9 in the league, tied for fifth with Freedom, and closes the regular season at home on Friday at 6 p.m. against South Caldwell.
South Fork 2A race tight
East Lincoln (11-1) has a one-game edge over Maiden (10-2) as the South Fork 2A race heads to its next-to-last playing date on Tuesday night.
East Lincoln can clinch at least a co-championship by winning at home against West Lincoln or if Newton-Conover were to pull an upset at Maiden.
If both East Lincoln and Maiden win, the final regular-season playing date is Thursday – East Lincoln at Newton-Conover and Maiden at Lincolnton.
The conference tournament begins next week.
Foard win away from title
Fred T. Foard is a victory away from the Northwestern Foothills 2A title and must win on Wednesday to earn the crown.
The Tigers, 10-0 in the league, go to second-place West Iredell (9-0) on Wednesday night for a 6:30 p.m. match.
Foard beat the Warriors 3-0 on Sept. 27 in Newton.
The conference tournament begins next week.
BOYS SOCCER
Hickory 4, Freedom 1
Hector Diaz scored twice and had an assist and Brayden Rowland had a goal and an assist, leading the Red Tornadoes to a Northwestern 3A-4A victory at home.
Jeremiah Bush added a goal for Hickory, which got additional assists by Alex Rojo and Ayden Kelly.
The Red Tornados (11-2-4, 8-0-0) remain in first place, one game up on Watauga and West Caldwell with six league matches to go.
Freedom is 3-5-0 in the conference.
Hickory goes to Watauga on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. league match and Freedom meets Alexander Central, also at 6 p.m., in a conference match at the Catawba River Soccer Complex.
Bandys 0, Newton-Conover 0 (tie)
The Trojans and Red Devils, playing at Bandys, tied after the match was stopped with 32 minutes left by inclement weather.
Bandys, which beat Newton-Conover 3-2 in overtime earlier in the season in Newton, is 6-2-1 in the league and in third place.
Newton-Conover is now 7-1-1 in the conference and entered the Monday match tied with East Lincoln for first place.
Suspended matches
Two suspended matches – Lincolnton at East Lincoln in the South Fork 2A and Fred T. Foard at East Burke in the Northwestern Foothills 2A – will be completed on Tuesday night.
At East Lincoln, play will resume at 6 p.m. with East Lincoln in front 2-0. Due to weather, play was halted on Monday night with 4:54 left in the first half.
At East Burke, play resumes at 5 p.m. with the Cavs up 1-0. The match was stopped because of weather with 4:51 left in the opening half.
GIRLS GOLF
South Fork 2A race goes to final match
Lake Norman Charter nipped Maiden by four strokes, regaining the team lead in the South Fork 2A race as it heads to the final round on Tuesday at River Run.
Playing at Lincoln Country Club, the Knights shot 146 and Maiden closed at 150. West Lincoln was third (163), followed by East Lincoln (169) and North Lincoln (193).
Lake Norman Charter has a two-shot lead over Maiden.
Josie Fisher led the Knights with a round of 45 and Georgia Chapman shot a 48, Tess Palmer a 53 and Lauren Chi had a personal-best round of 54.