Murphy-Before its third round match against Murphy, Rosman was going through an old tour of its former conference. The Lady Tigers were moved out of the Smoky Mountain Conference and into the Western Highlands conference this year b,ut swept both Hayesville and Highlands in the first two rounds of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 1A playoffs.
Looking to complete the conference trifecta in Murphy, Rosman suffered the same fate that every other volleyball team that’s walked into Murphy High School this fall: defeat. The Lady Bulldogs prevailed in a hard-fought match, sweeping the Lady Tigers in front of a raucous crowd, 27-25, 25-19, 25-20.
“The energy was so electric tonight,” Murphy head coach Jordan Lovingood. “I say it every practice. Being home is a blessing….Last year, they weren’t able to have 25 people in the gym. This year to come out and play in front of our community was huge.”
Rosman was a step-up in competition from Murphy’s second round opponent, South Stanly. The Lady Tigers were scrappy defensively and were a strong hitting team that switched up their attacks.
Whenever it seemed like Murphy (22-2 overall) was about to get comfortable, Rosman (17-4) had an answer. That almost cost the Lady Bulldogs in the first set, who thought they lost it 25-23 after Riley Dockery’s hit was initially ruled out of bounds. The official closer to the play ruled it bounced off a Lady Tigers fingertips, and the set was tied at 24. Rosman would win the next point, but back-to-back kills from Torin Rogers sandwiched around a Lady Tigers attack error allowed Murphy to prevail in the first set.
Rosman kept the Lady Bulldogs within striking distance the next two sets, but Murphy’s hitting and play at the net made the difference. The Lady Tigers didn’t have much an answer for Rogers, and sophomore Maddison Seabolt was also strong in the middle.
“All the playoffs we’ve really focused on blocking,” Lovingood said. “Because we have a good defensive team if we can get a touch on a block. Moving forward we know defense was our weak point coming into the playoffs and we’ve gotten much better. You just have to keep improving every practice.”
With the second set tied at 14, kills from Rogers on either end of a Lady Tigers attack error gave the Lady Bulldogs a cushion down the stretch. A solo block from Rogers pushed the lead in the set out to 23-19, and a service ace from Cailey Dockery gave Murphy the 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set was a similar back-and-forth affair early on, with the Lady Bulldogs a step ahead before Rosman scored five straight to take a 14-13 lead. After three straight attack errors by the Lady Tigers, Rogers and Payne had three kills each, and a kill by Maddison Seabolt deflected off the hand and behind a Rosman player, hitting the ground to send the Murphy on to the fourth round.
The Lady Bulldogs will host No. 3 seed Uwharrie Charter (20-5) in the fourth round on Saturday. A win would put Murphy in the 1A West Regional Final for the first time since 2011, while the Eagles have never made it to the Final Four.
“Considering we’re the last public school on the west side in the state left, we’re just going to keep pushing and fighting harder and harder just to prove to everybody that we’re up there with them,” Payne said.