Emma Freed digs a ball in a 2019 set. Freed played hard for Starmount on Tuesday night.
File Photo
ELKIN — It has been a long time coming, but sports are finally back and in action around the state of North Carolina. Elkin volleyball started its season this week with a home game against their Mountain Valley Athletic Conference rivals, Starmount. Both teams came into the game rearing for a fight, as they were excited to start the season. Elkin took the first, third, and fourth set wins while Starmount earned a win in the second set. The Lady Elks were able to secure the match win, 3-1, to move to 1-0 in the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference.
In the first set, nerves were high for both teams. Missed serves were the theme of the set, with both teams averaging five missed serves each. Elkin was able to shake the nerves off first, as they came out and took control of the set. With kills across the front line and great digs from the back row, Elkin took a 25-17 win in the first set.
The second set saw a back and forth start once again, with Elkin taking a 1-0 lead then Starmount tying the set 1-1. From there, the back and forth score line continued until Starmount was able to jump out to a two point lead. The Lady Rams grabbed an 8-5 lead off of a tip by Caitlyn Bolling. The ball landed just behind Elkin’s front line, and Starmount celebrated the point. Although Starmount had put up a three point lead, the home team did not let the lead phase them. The next three points were secured by Elkin, with Monica Bridgeman helping secure the tie with two aces from the service line.
As the score was tied 8-8, Bridgeman gave Elkin the lead with her third consecutive ace. The next two points also went to Elkin, as Wells slammed down two kills from the outside position for an 11-8 Elkin lead. As soon as Elkin was comfortable with the lead, the Lady Rams made their comeback once again. Freed and Bolling slammed down kills from Starmount, which helped the visiting team tie the set 12-12.
Over the next several points, the tempo flowed from one team to the next. As the set was approaching set point, both teams fought for every play. Starmount held on to an 24-23 lead, when Wells tied the set with a kill from the strong side. At a 24-24 score, Wells then gave Elkin the lead with another kill. Starmount was able to tie the set off of a free ball that landed in the middle of Elkin’s side of the court, and once again the set was tied 25-25. Elkin then took the lead for the last time, with a kill from Jennings. Elkin was holding a 26-25 lead, when Starmount put down three points in a row to take a 28-26 win. The final point of the set came from a block by Freed on the right side. The block was successful, and the Lady Rams tied the match 1-1 with a second set win.
Although Starmount took the second set win, the Lady Elks were the ones to come out with the lead in the third set. Blythe Freeman landed three aces in a row for the Lady Elks to give her team a 3-0 lead. Jennings then gave Elkin a 4-0 lead with a solo block in the middle. Jut as Elkin was advancing their score, Freeman missed her fifth serve and Starmount was on the board. The Lady Rams were only able to add one additional point to their side of the scoreboard before Elkin went on another scoring rally. With the score 4-2 in Elkin’s favor, the home team added three points to the board with two aces by Wells and a kill by Bridgeman.
Over the next several plays, the score remained in Elkin’s favor. Wells, Jennings, Madison Mauldin, and Bridgeman all secured points for the home team to give them a 23-13 lead over Starmount. Elkin needed just two points to win the set, while they had a 10 point lead over Starmount. Just when it appeared the set was over, the Lady Rams proved they were not going to give up easily. Starmount started its comeback rally with two aces by Freed. Pulling closer to the Lady Elks, Bolling laid down a cross court kill to make the score 24-19. Freed added a back row kill to cut Elkin’s lead to four points, then Bolling had three aces which made the score 24-23. The Lady Rams had made a tremendous comeback but just as they were about to tie the set, Elkin secured the final point to take a 25-23 win. The ten point comeback from Starmount was impressive, but it was not enough for them to take the win in the third set.
Heading into the fourth set, Elkin led 2-1 and only needed one more set win to take the match. The set started off in favor of Elkin with a missed serve by the Lady Rams. The score was then tied 1-1, with a kill by Freed from the right side. From there, it was once again a back and forth battle on the court. As soon as one team gained the lead, the other team would make their comeback to tie the set. This momentum carried on until both team’s were tied at 21-21. Bolling had served two aces across the net which tied the set for Starmount. The next play was all about Elkin, with Wells slamming down a hard kill from the strong side for a 22-21 lead. Starmount was called in the net for the next point, and Elkin held a 23-21 lead. The final two points went to the home team, with Mauldin earning an ace and Wells putting down a kill for the final point of the set. When the fourth set was over, Elkin took a 25-21 lead which gave them a 3-1 MVAC win over the Lady Rams.
With the win, Elkin is now 1-0 in the MVAC and 1-0 overall. The Lady Elks will be back in action on Dec. 1 against West Wilkes.
Starmount is 0-1 in the conference and 0-1 overall. Starmount will play North Wilkes away on Dec. 1.
Reach Kristian Russell on Twitter @YadkinElkSports.