Andrews varsity volleyball loses to Leadership Academy
After receiving the No. 8 seed in the western part of the 1A volleyball state playoffs, Andrews received a first-round bye and automatically advanced to the second round.
In the second round, they hosted the N.C. School of Science & Math: Morganton and got the win to advance to the third round, where they faced the top-seeded Leadership Academy.
The Lady Wildcats were the only Cherokee County volleyball team to play at home in the second round, with both Murphy and Hiwassee Dam on the road.
NCSSM: Morganton earned their spot in the second round by easily defeating Winston-Salem Preparatory School in the open round. On Oct. 21, the two teams met in The Valley looking for the win to extend their seasons.
The NCSSM: Morganton Lady Dragons scored the first point of the match, but Andrews answered with four straight to take an early lead. They extended their lead to 10-5 when the Lady Dragons called the first timeout of the match.
The Lady Cats continued to extend their lead and closed out the first set 25-16 to lead 1-0 in the match.
The Lady Dragons took an early lead in the second set, but the Lady Cats fought back to tie it at 6, then claimed the lead. Andrews went from trailing early to a big lead as they won the second set 25-15 to lead 2-0.
Momentum shifted in the third set in favor of the Lady Dragons. After ties and lead changes early in the third set, both teams continued to battle.
The Lady Cats took the lead around midway through the set, but the Lady Dragons fought to tie it at 21. It remained close, but the Lady Dragons won 25-23 to extend the match.
After losing the third set, the Lady Cats came out in the fourth set and took the lead in a hurry. Andrews led 11-5 when the Lady Dragons called a timeout. They extended their lead to 17-7 when the Lady Dragons called another timeout.
The Lady Cats closed out the set and cruised to a 25-8 fourth-set win to take the match 3-1, sending them to the third round of the state 1A playoffs.
After the match, Lady Wildcats head coach Shanna Mustin talked about hosting a playoff game and the importance of a first-round bye.
“We were just super excited to host a playoff game. We haven’t done that in a really, really long time,” Mustin said.
“The first-round bye was good. It gave our girls a weekend to recover, prepare and try to find some film. Then, of course, hosting. It’s definitely better to play and home, and I think it gave us an advantage for sure.”
The entire match, the gymnasium was loud thanks to the Wildcats fans. Mustin said the team fed off of their energy.
“All season long, we’ve thrived off of the energy of the crowd. They play really well when we have a noisy gym. It really meant a lot to have the stands packed, but especially the student section and the cheerleaders,” Mustin said.
To prepare for their third-round match against the Leadership Academy, Mustin said Andrews was going to study stats to help optimize their offense against the No. 1-seeded team.
On Thursday, the Lady Cats were back in action and on the road for the first time in the playoffs this season, when they traveled to Kernersville for their third-round matchup against No. 1-seeded Leadership Academy.
The Leadership Academy Lady Falcons took the early lead and won the first set 25-13. They made it 2-0 in the match by winning the second set 25-18.
The Lady Wildcats weren’t going down without a fight, as they won the third set 25-18 to extend the match.
In the fourth set, the Lady Falcons won 25-16 to take the match 3-1. The Lady Falcons advanced to the fourth round to face fellow Smoky Mountain Conference team Robbinsville.
The Lady Wildcats ended their season with an overall record of 12-13.