Southwestern Randolph teammates Jade Matias, left, and Bailey Blackmon go up for a block against Newton-Conover during a match in the state playoffs last week. (Thadd Sanders / For Randolph Record)
UCA, Randleman reach third round before home defeats
ASHEBORO – The volleyball season came to an end during the weekend for Randolph County high school teams.
Uwharrie Charter Academy, the Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament champion, was the last team standing before suffering a loss to visiting Cornerstone Charter in the Class 1A third round of the state playoffs.
Earlier in the day, PAC regular-season champion Randleman went down in Class 2A.
The first three rounds were consolidated into a five-day period in the North Carolina High School Association’s revamped format to account for missed playing time for schools in the western part of the state following Hurricane Helene.
Five teams from Randolph County won in the opening round in West Region action before the remaining teams dwindled.
Here’s a look:
Class 1A
Fourth-seeded UCA fell 25-21, 25-23, 25-23 to fifth-seeded Cornerstone Charter in a third-round match.
Caroline Way’s 10 blocks and Kayden Faglier’s six kills and four blocks were among highlights for the Eagles (28-4).
UCA took out 13th-seeded Swain County 25-17, 25-15, 25-14 in the second round. The Eagles began the states by trouncing No. 29 seed Andrews 25-12, 25-13, 25-7.
** Eastern Randolph (9-15), seeded No. 24, fell in the first round by 25-11, 25-19, 25-22 at ninth-seeded Draughn.
Class 2A
Third-seeded Randleman was one for three matches, falling to sixth-seeded North Stanly by 25-20, 25-19, 25-18 in the third round.
Camryn Vickery had 28 assists and eight digs for the Tigers (20-5).
Randleman handled No. 19 seed Forbush 25-13, 25-19, 25-18 in the second round, when Vickery racked up 44 assists to eclipse the 2,000-assist mark for her career. Camden Scott had 18 kills and 10 digs and Haley Hinshaw provided 11 kills and 12 digs.
The Tigers opened the states by defeating No. 30 seed Rutherfordton-Spindale Central 25-16, 26-28, 25-19, 25-10 with Scott’s 19 kills and 20 digs and Hinshaw’s 18 kills and 19 digs proving huge.
** No. 13 seed Southwestern Randolph won one match in the state playoffs, marking its quickest exit since before winning the 2021 state championship. It lost in the fourth round to Brevard in each of the past two seasons.
The Cougars (16-12) couldn’t keep up at fourth-seeded West Stanly, which won 25-20, 25-17, 17-25, 25-17 in the second round despite Gracie Hodgin’s 11 kills.
Southwestern Randolph made fast work of No. 20 seed Newton-Conover 25-11, 25-23, 25-9 in the first round as Hailey Kennedy registered 19 assists and three assists and Madilyn Baker had 10 assists and 10 digs.
** No. 18 seed Trinity notched a road triumph at No. 15 seed West Stokes before its season ended.
The Bulldogs (17-9) lost 25-11, 25-13, 25-15 at second-seeded Brevard. Avalynn Johnson provided 16 assists and Charlee Phillips had 12 digs for Trinity.
Against West Stokes, Karrington Batten had 21 kills and four aces and Kaitlyn McCoy added 17 kills and 12 digs in Trinity’s 14-25, 25-18, 25-23, 20-25, 15-8 victory.
Class 3A
Asheboro held the No. 14 seed, topping No. 19 seed Pisgah 25-15, 25-21, 25-12 to open the playoffs with Emma Kate Forester’s 14 kills and four aces, Lia George’s 17 digs and seven kills and Emma Little’s 21 digs coming in handy.
Asheboro (19-7) was ousted with a 25-19, 25-13, 25-15 loss at third-seeded Kings Mountain.
