Hiwassee Dam falls on road to Leadership Academy
Kernersville – For the second consecutive season, the Hiwassee Dam varsity volleyball team played in the second round of the state 1A playoffs.
Like last season, the Lady Eagles saw a similar path – a first-round win, then second-round loss.
On Oct. 21, the Lady Eagles (8-17) hit the road to face the Leadership Academy (21-7) in the second round of the playoffs. The No. 16 seed Lady Eagles fell 3-0 to the No. 1 seed Leadership Academy Lady Falcons.
The first set was the closest, as both teams battled early, but the Lady Falcons won the opening set 25-20 to take an early 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, the Lady Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the match by winning the set 25-19. They closed out the match in the third set by winning it 25-18 to win the match 3-0 to advance to the third round.
In the third round, the Lady Falcons met another Cherokee County team as they hosted Andrews on Thursday.
The Lady Eagles ended their season with an 8-17 overall record. Despite early struggles, they won a third straight Little Smoky Mountain Conference by defeating Highlands in the conference tournament championship.
Hiwassee Dam graduates four seniors, but the Lady Eagles will likely promote players from the junior varsity squad as they look to win a fourth straight conference championship next fall season.
Players will look ahead to basketball season, which is set to tip off in the next few weeks.