MORGANTON — In The News Herald's preseason overview, Patton High School volleyball coach Sarena Fuller said, "We ended last season with a bit of unfinished business. We didn't perform in the first round of state playoffs, and that has given us focus going into this season."
The team's goals were to make it to the state playoffs and win the first round to avenge last season's loss. More than setting a goal, the team members made that promise to each other.
"It is a promise we have had posted in our locker room since August," Fuller said. "The entire team has believed in it and worked relentlessly towards it."
Saturday was the Panthers' day to deliver on that promise. As a No. 1 seed from the South Mountain Athletic Conference, Patton hosted Crest High School, the No. 4 seed from the Big South Conference. Patton advanced in the postseason with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 26-24) victory.
Now on a five-game winning streak, Patton will host Franklin High School on Tuesday. Franklin is the No. 2 seed from the Appalachian Athletic Conference.
Game one was all Panthers. They quickly jumped out to a 12-4 lead and never looked back. An ace by Lindsay Auton finished the game 25-14.
Game two was much of the same, with the Panthers delivering 15 kill shots: seven from Courtney Causby, four from Sarah King and two each from Sarah Millner and Nya Michaux. When combined with outstanding serves from Paige Ramseur and Caroline Vinesett, who also shared in the assists, the Chargers could not rally. Patton took the second set 25-14.
Crest came to game three with more focus and challenged Patton for every point. A run of tough serves by Katie Spangler put Crest up 7-0. However, this was not the first time when Patton has played from behind. The senior leaders helped claw their way out of the hole and into a 26-24 victory and a second-round playoff berth.
"We had to overcome a lot this week," said Fuller. "It has been eight days since we last played and that can be a hurdle. The entire team is also fighting off illnesses. We were missing one key defensive player, Bailey Hewat, due to the flu. We pulled up Hannah King from our (junior varsity) squad and she did a terrific job."
If the Panthers were out to avenge last season's playoff loss, they certainly did that with authority. They held Crest to less than 15 points in two games — by point margin, their worst loss all season.
"Crest is a good team from a tough conference. I certainly have a lot of respect for them. Coach Giancarlo Anselmo is doing a great job there," Fuller said.
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