Highlands – It was a hard-fought five sets, but the Hiwassee Dam varsity volleyball team conquered Highlands to win the Little Smoky Mountain Conference tournament and be crowned champions.
The 1A state playoff bracket was announced Thursday, and Hiwassee Dam was seeded No. 16 in 1A west.
With the No. 16 seed, they hosted a first-round matchup against No. 17 seed North Stokes (7-18) on Saturday. The Lady Eagles (8-16) soared to a 3-0 victory to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
The first set was back and forth as each team looked to find their groove. Neither team led by more than a few points. Late in the set, Hiwassee Dam tied at 21 points, then again at 23. The Lady Eagles closed out the first set with two straight points to take a 1-0 lead.
Hiwassee Dam got out to a 10-5 lead early in the second set. The Lady Eagles extended it to 18-9 before North Stokes went on a run to cut into the late.
The Lady Eagles called a late timeout as they led 23-19. Out of the timeout, they scored two straight points to win the set a take a 2-0 lead.
It was close again in the third set as both teams battled. Hiwassee Dam was battling to extend their season and North Stokes was battling to avoid being eliminated.
With the 2-0 lead heading into the third set, the Lady Eagles closed out the game by winning the set 25-23 to advance to the second round for the second straight season.
The Lady Eagles played their second-round matchup against the Leadership Academy after the Cherokee Scout’s press deadline Tuesday morning. Coverage of the match will be in the Oct. 29 edition of the Scout.
Earlier in the week, the Lady Eagles competed in the Little Smoky Mountain Conference tournament, helping them secure a place and home game in the playoffs.
To earn their place in the LSMC championship, they defeated Summit Charter (5-14) on Oct. 13.
In the four-set match, the Lady Eagles won 3-1.
Summit Charter won the first set of the match 25-18, but the Lady Eagles didn’t drop another set in the match.
The Lady Eagles won the second set 25-11 to tie the match 1-1. In the third and fourth sets, the Lady Eagles won each by a score of 25-18 to win the match 3-1.
After downing Summit Charter, Hiwassee Dam advanced to the championship match to face Highlands (9-13) on Oct. 15. Highlands defeated Blue Ridge Early College to reach the championship.
It was a five-set battle between the rivals in their third matchup of the season. Hiwassee Dam won the first meeting of the season 3-2, then Highlands defeated them 3-0. They settled the score when they met again in the conference championship.
Each of the five sets were close from start to finish. The Lady Eagles won the first set 25-20, but Highlands won the second set 25-23 to tie the match 1-1.
The Lady Eagles then won the third set 25-23 to lead 2-1. Highlands battled back to win the fourth set 25-21, forcing a tie-breaking fifth set to determine the champion.
Highlands got out to an early lead in the fifth set, prompting a Lady Eagles timeout. Out of the timeout, the Lady Eagles fought back to tie the match. After multiple lead changes and chances for both teams to win the match, they went past the typical 15 points needed to win the set.
Neither team could gain the two-point advantage needed to close out the match until the Lady Eagles put together two consecutive points. The Lady Eagles won the fifth set 19-17 to win the match 3-2.
As they scored the winning point, the Lady Eagles’ players and fans yelled in excitement as they claimed their third straight LSMC championship with a hard-fought match.