Cape Fear Volleyball Bounces Back

Hickory, NC - Cape Fear volleyball rebounded from their first loss of the season and defeated Northern Virginia Community College 3-0.

It was the second time the teams had faced one another. In the previous match, the Sea Devils lost the first two sets, but rallied to win 3-2.

Friday afternoon's match went much easier for Cape Fear. After the Sea Devils won a close first set, 25-21, they found their groove in the second and third sets, winning 25-17 and 25-16, respectively. Cape Fear was particularly dominant in the second set, holding Northern Virginia to a hitting percentage of just .029.

It's a strong win for the Sea Devils, who bounced back after falling to Owens Community College, the top ranked team in Division II, earlier in the day. In that match, the Sea Devils managed to take one set from the Express after losing the first two sets, but couldn't complete the comeback.

"We pulled it out despite the long day we had," said head coach Emily Coleman.

Freshman middle blocker Shilah Haumann finished with 14 kills, while sophomore defensive specialist Karly Mathias had 21 digs. Ali Jenkins, who won NJCAA Division II Player of the Week back in September for totaling 180 assists, led the team with 33 assists in the match.

The Sea Devils improve to 15-1 on the season, and are 1-1 so far in the Catawba Valley Tournament. They will play two matches Saturday; first against Wallace State Community College at 9:00 a.m., followed by a 1:30 p.m. match against Lansing Community College.

Courtesy of Nick Denning