South Lenoir defeats North Lenoir, face West Craven Wednesday for playoff home game
South Lenoir’s eight seniors picked up a win in their final regular-season home game Tuesday. The seniors are, from left, Sara Beth Stroud, Logan Lucas, Maheylah Colie, Mallory Dawson, Michaela Elmore, Alyssa Kopanski, Bailey Smith and Jessica Harris. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News
By Junious Smith III
DEEP RUN —South Lenoir wasn't letting its biggest rival ruin its Senior Night.
The Blue Devils defeated North Lenoir 25-22, 25-19, 25-23 Tuesday in the regular-season finale to set up a match with West Craven to determine second place in the Eastern Carolina 2A Conference. South Lenoir (14-4, 9-3) will play the Eagles — who have the same record in conference play — Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Lenoir Community College. The winner of the game will be guaranteed a home playoff contest in the first round of the NCHSAA 2A playoffs, which starts Saturday.
North Lenoir (12-9, 6-6) started strong, as Kanijah Taylor’s kill highlighted a 7-2 start to the game, but South Lenoir would fire back as two service aces from Lyndsay Williams, along with a Sara Beth Stroud kill were part of a 6-1 run to give the Blue Devils an 18-14 advantage. The Hawks went ahead 22-20, but the Blue Devils closed out the set on a 5-0 run, punctuated with a Mary Grace Beyer kill.
In the second set, Taylor’s kill highlighted a 5-1 start for North Lenoir, but South Lenoir answered emphatically behind the strength of Mallory Dawson’s serving. During a 10-0 run which also had a Stroud kill and Alyssa Kopanski block, Dawson delivered six service aces, including four in a row during a stretch.
“It was funny because my dad told me this was the worst serving season I’ve had this year, so I was trying to show that I was pretty good,” Dawson said. “I was just trying to help the team win and get some points.”
The teams split the first six points of the third set before North Lenoir went on a 4-0 run, including a Reena Parris kill and Paytyn Jones ace. The Hawks extended the lead to 18-13, and while Stroud went down with an ankle injury late in the set, South Lenoir rallied and Kopanski’s kill at 22-21 gave the Blue Devils the lead. North Lenoir tied it at 23, but the Blue Devils ended the match with two straight.
Stroud’s status for Wednesday’s game is unknown, but she said it’s been great working with this group.
“We’re all good friends off the court, which helped us build that chemistry in games,” Stroud said. “I love playing with this group and we’re going to miss each other in college.”
South Lenoir coach Lisa Smith said the eight seniors — Dawson, Kopanski, Stroud, Maheylah Colie, Michaela Elmore, Jessica Harris, Logan Lucas and Bailey Smith — have all made great contributions over the years. After Tuesday’s win, the Blue Devils are 52-28 over the past four years, including an EC2A championship in 2016.
“This is a group of young ladies who work extremely hard, and all of them have done amazing,” Smith said. “We joke around but get the job done, and it’s been a family environment here.”
As North Lenoir prepares for the postseason, North Lenoir coach Heather Carson said the team has to sustain its early momentum for the end of sets.
“The girls play hard throughout, but when we get a lead we have to keep it,” Carson said. “We’ve had several games where something like this has happened this year — we have to keep the momentum.”
