Dig or die: Defense helps carries Polk to 2A third round

A dig-or-die mentality helped Polk County stay alive Tuesday in the state 2A volleyball playoffs.

The Wolverines entered the postseason with a defensive goal of letting no balls hit the floor. Very few did Tuesday, Polk County cruising to a 25-18, 25-16, 25-17 win over West Stanly in a 2A second-round playoff match at Polk.

Now 19-7, Polk County will travel Thursday to Brevard for a third-round matchup. The Blue Devils (19-6) defeated Bunker Hill 25-23, 25-23, 25-21 on Tuesday. Brevard defeated Polk County twice this season, including a five-set match last week in which the Wolverines let a two-set lead slip away.

Defense has been a strength for the Wolverines all season, players hitting the floor to dig shots a common sight at Polk County games. But entering the final two weeks of the regular season, Polk head coach Molly Hill challenged the Wolverines to become even more aggressive in trying to keep plays alive.

“We’ve got to go after everything, swing smart and try to get wins,” Hill said. “I definitely feel like we played like that tonight.”

Indeed, Polk often won points simply by prolonging them until West Stanly (22-6) made a mistake. The Colts also struggled at times with serve reception and with the Wolverines’ outside hitting. West Stanly finally began to effectively block midway through the third set, especially in the middle, but by then the Wolverines were closing in on the third round of the playoffs for the second straight year.

“I’m pleased with our performance,” Hill said. “I thought we played a little slow in the second game, got a little sluggish. But in the third game we play really smart and really fast, which is what I challenged them to do. I thought we stepped it up big-time in the third game.”

Up one set, Polk took command of the match midway through the second. Tied at 11, a Reagan Waddell kill, a Waddell ace and an Ashley Love deep push shot put Polk up 14-11 and led West Stanly to call a timeout. Love continued to plague the Colts, ripping two kills and a tip to help the Wolverines build the lead to 18-13.

Another Love kill made it 22-14, then an Addie Lynch blash moments later upped the lead to 24-16 before a Colts error gave Polk the set.

Four straight service winners by Waddell early in the third set gave the Wolverines a 7-2 lead, and West Stanly would get no closer than three points the rest of the set. With the lead at 21-17, Love ended a long rally with a hard kill to make it 22-17. Two points later, Cameron Capozzi’s ace ended the match.

Love had 15 kills and 13 digs for Polk County, with Waddell adding 11 kills, 13 digs and five aces. Kendall Hall had 15 digs and Savannah Ross had 29 assists and nine digs for the Wolverines.