Eastern Wayne volleyball beats Cleveland

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on October 19, 2013 11:10 PM

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Eastern Wayne head coach Tony Parrish used his final timeout with his team down four points in the fifth and final set against Cleveland on Saturday afternoon.

The Warriors responded and scored eight of the last nine points to claim a 17-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-25, 15-11 win in the opening round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A volleyball playoffs.

"I'm really excited for this group because we have never been here before," Parrish said. "We put together a few points at the end and our seven seniors got their first playoff win."

Cleveland started strong and used an excellent short game to claim the first set. Eastern Wayne adjusted and played much better front-line defense en route to a 25-20 victory in the second set.

The Warriors began to find their hitters in rhythm in the third set.

Mariah Stephens buried three kills and delivered three blocks as the Warriors escaped with a 25-23 win. Eastern Wayne missed a chance to put the game away in the fourth set as the Rams rallied and reeled off the final 10 points of the set to even the match at two sets apiece.

Cleveland used the momentum and jumped ahead 10-6 in the final set before Parrish called his final timeout.

"I could see our girls getting nervous," Parrish said. "I called timeout, tried to settle them down and ultimately it worked out."

A pair of aces from Casey Young got the Warriors back in the set. Stephens and Erica Duke delivered back-to-back blocks that pushed Eastern Wayne ahead 11-10.

The teams traded unforced errors before Duke gave the Warriors the lead for good with a block at the net.

Stephens led Eastern Wayne with six kills, eight blocks and four aces. Duke added five kills and three blocks. Jenna Rouse recorded nine kills and three aces.

"Mariah (Stephens) really stepped up her defensive game tonight," Parrish said. "She did a great job of neutralizing (Marina Roe) at the net. That was a big part of our defense."

Eastern Wayne (5-16 overall) entertains South Brunswick on Tuesday.