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Watauga cruises past South Caldwell in Northwestern Conference opener, 3-0

By David Rogers for HighCountrySports.net

HUDSON, N.C. — Whether spiking a kill, demonstrating ballet between sets, or even mishitting a serve into the net, Watauga’s women’s volleyball team had fun on Sept. 14 in Hudson, against South Caldwell. They staged a 3-set sweep of the Spartans, 25-15, 25-8, 25-13.

Pioneer head coach Kim Pryor said after the match that one of the challenges for this week has been getting her charges to focus on the task at hand, even with it being the first Northwestern Conference match of the still young season.

 Watauga outside hitter Faith Watson (left) hits a kill shot past a South Caldwell defender on Sept. 14, at the Spartan campus in Hudson. Watauga won in straight sets. Photo by David Rogers

“This week is homecoming at Watauga, so there are a lot of things related to that going on, including all of the homecoming events Friday night. Before the match, I stressed the importance of focusing on volleyball for this night and they did, wonderfully,” said Pryor.

Senior middle blocker and outside hitter Brooke Scheffler said that the team’s strategy against South Caldwell was to keep as much pressure on the Spartans as possible.

“We know they have a very big hitter, so the goal was to keep them off balance, to not let her teammates set her up with good opportunities. I think that pressure was a big difference maker for this match,” said Scheffler.

 Pioneer libero Kenzie Baldwin serves against South Caldwell on Sept. 14, in the first Northwestern Conference match of the 2022 season. Watauga won, 3-0. Photo by David Rogers

Scheffler once again put together one of the more robust stat lines on the night, with 15 kills, 24 assists, 2 service aces, 10 digs, and even adding a stuff block to her resume.

Senior Carolina Farthing, also an outside hitter, amassed 20 kills over the course of the three sets.

Other stat leaders included Cam Norris (18 assists, 1 service ace, 2 digs), Evie Robbins (13 digs, 2 service aces), Kenzie Baldwin (16 digs, 3 assists), and Faith Watson (9 kills, 4 stuff blocks, 1 dig).

With the win, the Pioneers improve to 10-1 overall, 1-0 in Northwestern Conference play. Their next action is on the road, in Taylorsville against Alexander Central (3-5, 0-1). The Cougars lost to Ashe County on Sept. 14 in its conference debut, 20-25, 19-25, 25-19, 20-25.

 The South Caldwell defender doesn’t stand a chance against this kill shot by Watauga’s Carolina Farthing (22). Photo by David Rogers