Warriors catching 'winning fever' in volleyball
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on September 20, 2013 1:48 PM
After enduring 12 consecutive losses to start the season, the Eastern Wayne volleyball team now finds itself in the midst of a hot streak.
The Warriors dominated the first set and rolled past Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference rival Southern Wayne 25-4, 25-17, 25-12 on Thursday night for its second win in a three-day period.
"Winning is contagious and right now we feel like we can win," Eastern Wayne head coach Tony Parrish said. "We kind of surprised some people by beating C.B. Aycock earlier this week, and tonight we continued to build on that momentum."
Eastern Wayne (2-12 overall, 2-4 ECC) took control of the match early.
Behind an excellent effort from Jenna Rouse, the Warriors reeled off the last 12 points of the first set. Rouse had five aces in the last 10 points.
The second set was more competitive as the Saints did a better job at the net. Latrecia Johnson delivered a block and a kill to pull the Saints to within 23-17, but the visitors failed to sustain the rally and fell 25-17.
Eastern Wayne pulled away 14-2 in the third set and closed the Saints out without incident.
Rouse led Eastern Wayne with five kills and six aces. Taylor Sledge added four kills and one ace.
"You know when we were 0-12 we could have hung our heads and quit," Parrish said. "But the girls didn't do that. They just continued to play hard and now it is paying off."
Johnson paced Southern Wayne (0-10, 0-6) with two kills and four blocks. Haley Warren added three kills and one ace.
Southern Wayne plays host to D.H. Conley on Tuesday, while South Central is the guest of Eastern Wayne.