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Marvin Ridge dominates Myers Park, advances to NCHSAA volleyball quarterfinals again

bill kiser
·4 min read
Players from Marvin Ridge High’s volleyball team celebrate during Saturday’s N.C. 4A volleyball playoff win over Myers Park during the third-round volleyball match at Marvin Ridge High School on October 26th, 2024 in Waxhaw.

Just a year ago, Marvin Ridge High’s volleyball team was upset by Cox Mill in the quarterfinals of the North Carolina 4A state playoffs.

The Mavericks now find themselves heading back to the fourth round after beating Myers Park 3-0 on Saturday.

Top-seeded Marvin Ridge’s 25-13, 25-14, 25-8 victory over the eighth-seeded Mustangs extends its winning streak to 20 consecutive matches, and will pit the Mavericks (32-3) against either fourth-seeded Grimsley (25-5) or 12th-seeded Northern Guilford (20-5) on Tuesday.

“We knew what we wanted to do, and we executed the game plan pretty well,” Marvin Ridge head coach Brook Hammers said. “We had to keep the ball on their side more than our side, and we served really aggressively today. The girls did a very good job of total teamwork amongst all of them.”

The Mavericks accomplished that with their service game, posting four- and five-point scoring stretches — topped by a seven-point run by senior libero Isabella Perkins in the third set — throughout Saturday’s match.

The best Myers Park (20-8) managed was a two-point run by junior Anya Lee, and that didn’t come until midway through the third set.

“We didn’t make a good effort when it came to that,” Mustangs head coach Kori Hill said. “Marvin Ridge brought so much heat on their side that we couldn’t hang in there in those long rallies.”

Another factor was the Mavericks’ defense, which was able to either stop Myers Park’s attacks at the net, or keep the ball in play for stretches until mounting their own counterattack.

“I thought we played really well,” Marvin Ridge senior Karsyn Baylog said. “We just played as a team. We worked together and supported everyone. Our defense worked really well, and our offense really put it down.

“We just tried to use our shots, know where they weren’t and put the ball on the ground.”

Three who made a difference

Karsyn Baylog, Marvin Ridge: The senior led the Mavericks with 14 kills and a pair of solo blocks.

Isabella Perkins, Marvin Ridge: The senior had four of the Mavericks’ nine service aces.

Victoria Simons, Marvin Ridge: The 6-foot-1 Mavericks sophomore had eight kills and a solo block.

Observation

There’s a reason Marvin Ridge is ranked No. 1 in the state by MaxPreps, and it’s obvious by just looking at the Mavericks’ match scores. They haven’t lost a set during their 20-match win streak, and have only lost eight total sets all season. Marvin Ridge has an 87-1 set record in matches it has won.

Other matches

Lake Norman 3, Cox Mill 2: Lake Norman rallied in the final set and upset second-seeded Cox Mill in five sets. Cox Mill (21-4), which reached the 4A state finals a year ago before losing to Middle Creek, led the fifth set 8-5, but 10th-seeded Lake Norman (20-3) went on a 10-3 run to win 15-11.

Lake Norman took the first set 25-10, but Cox Mill battled back with 25-17 and 25-23 victories. The Wildcats knotted the match with a 25-16 fourth-set victory.

The teams, both members of the Greater Metro 4 4A Conference, had split a pair of regular-season matches.

Reagan 3, Cuthbertson 0: Reagan (22-5), the No. 3 seed in the 4A West, swept this match 25-11, 25-20 and 25-14. Elly Randolph led the victory with 17 kills and 11 digs. Cuthbertson, the No. 11 seed, finished 21-7.

North Iredell 3, Lake Norman Charter 1: Second-seeded North Iredell prevailed in four sets, winning 27-25, 25-17, 19-25 and 25-23. The Warriors (23-2), who won the 3A state championship two years ago, will host Kings Mountain on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Kings Mountain beat North Iredell 3-1 last year, but the Warriors downed the Mountaineers 3-0 in 2021. Both of those meetings happened in the playoffs.

Lake Norman Charter, the seventh seed, finished 22-3.

Community School of Davidson 3, Brevard 2: The Spartans (24-4) won a tight one, prevailing in five sets. Brevard (18-5) took the first set 25-20, but the Spartans won 25-23 in Set 2. Brevard pulled ahead with a 25-18 victory, but Community School of Davidson evened it with a 25-18 victory. The Spartans won 15-10 in the fifth set.

Community School of Davidson, the seventh seed in 2A West, travels to No. 6 North Stanly on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. The two teams met Aug. 24, with the Spartans winning 3-0.

Polk County 3, Christ the King 0: Sophia Overholt (15 kills, 15 digs) and Morgan Yoder (11 kills, four aces) led Polk County (19-3) past the Crusaders (18-9) in a 1A match.

Highland Tech 3, South Stokes 0: The Rams prevailed 25-18, 25-12 and 26-24, improving to 26-1 on the season. The No. 2 seed in the 1A West bracket, Highland Tech hosts Polk County on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.