Hiwassee Dam – The first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association volleyball playoffs kicked off with an in-county matchup between No. 11 seeded Hiwassee Dam and No. 22 Murphy.
The Dogs (8-13) hit the road on Oct. 22 because Hiwassee Dam (10-13) won the Little Smoky Mountain Conference, giving them a first-round home game. The Nest was packed full of Lady Eagles and Lady Dogs fans, and was rocking from the opening serve.
The Lady Dogs started with two straight points, but then the Lady Eagles stormed back for four straight to take the lead. They then tied at seven, then again at 11 points. The Lady Eagles began to pull away and the Lady Dogs took their first timeout trailing 18-12.
Coming out of the timeout, the Lady Eagles went on a run to win the set and only allowed three points down the stretch. The Lady Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the match after winning the first set 25-15.
The second set was important as it could sway the momentum either way in the match. The Lady Eagles jumped out to an early lead courtesy of kills by Olivia McNabb and long, gritty rallies.
The Lady Dogs then battled back to tie the match at seven. After tying again at eight, the Lady Eagles claimed the lead with the Lady Dogs still in the match and only a step behind.
The Lady Dogs were fighting back late and the Lady Eagles called a timeout with a 20-15 lead late in the second set. McNabb scored on a big kill right out of the timeout, but the Lady Dogs were picking up steam late in the match and tied it at 21. Once they tied the match, the Lady Eagles took a timeout.
Again, right out of the timeout McNabb fired off a kill, but then the Lady Dogs tied it at 22. As the Lady Eagles took a 24-23 lead with only one more point away from winning the set, the Lady Dogs called a timeout to kill that momentum.
The Lady Dogs tied it after the timeout to extend the second set as they tied the match at 24. They tied again at 25 to keep the match going. Then the Lady Eagles scored two straight to win the second set and lead the match 2-0, one set win away from advancing to the second round.
The tension and intensity was so thick you could cut it with a knife as the second set got deeper. Heading into the third set, the Lady Dogs were fighting to keep their season alive as the Lady Eagles were fighting to advance.
Like the previous set, Hiwassee Dam got out to an early lead, but Murphy was right behind. The Lady Dogs trailed until they claimed a 14-13 lead. They began to build momentum, but another kill from McNabb slowed that momentum and the Lady Eagles tied it at 15.
The Lady Eagles then regained the lead, but only momentarily as a few points later the Lady Dogs got it back. With the Lady Dogs leading 20-18 late in the set, Hiwassee Dam called a timeout as tensions were extremely high.
After the timeout, the Lady Eagles regained the lead, only a few points away from sweeping the Lady Dogs and advancing, but Murphy battled to take a 23-22 lead. The Lady Dogs fought to the end of the set and won the set 25-23 to stay alive.
Heading into the fourth set, both teams are still fighting with it all on the line. The Lady Eagles were rolling to the start the set as the got multiple aces to build a large lead in the fourth set.
Aces and blocks help them get out to a big lead early. The Lady Eagles hit the double-digit mark leading 10-2. They kept it going as they lead by as most as 11 points in the fourth set.
About halfway through the set, the Lady Dogs built momentum and began cutting into the lead. The Lady Eagles hit the 20-point mark leading by seven and Murphy called a timeout. Their season was on the line, and Hiwassee Dam was five points away from advancing in the playoffs.
As the timeout was ending, the Hiwassee Dam fans, led by the loud student section, began to stand up and cheer. Both teams fought to the end of the match, as the Lady Eagles won the fourth set 25-19 to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
In the second round, the Lady Eagles traveled to Huntersville to take on No. 6 seeded Christ the King (18-9) on Thursday. The Lady Eagles fell 3-0 for their season to come to an end. Christ the King went on to fall to Polk County 3-0 in the third round.
Hiwassee Dam was 2-1 against the Lady Dogs this season, with the home team winning each of the three games.
The Lady Dogs wrapped up their season going 8-13 overall and 2-8 in the Smoky Mountain Conference. The Lady Eagles finished their season with a 10-13 overall record and 4-1 in the Little Smoky Mountain Conference, winning the title.