Polk volleyball rolls through Xcel jamboree

HENDERSONVILLE – It was just one day, one very long day of preseason play for Polk County’s varsity and junior varsity volleyball squads.

But quite a day it proved to be.

Polk County’s varsity rolled through seven matches without a loss Saturday in the Mountain Bash preseason jamboree at Xcel Sportsplex in Hendersonville. Its junior varsity fared nearly as well with a 4-1 record for a day in which matches were played to a specific time limit rather than in traditional first-to-25-point games.

The Wolverine varsity faced Brevard, Enka, Erwin, Franklin, East Henderson, T.C. Roberson and Pisgah, opening with the Blue Devils at 9 a.m. and finishing with the Bears at 6 p.m. More than 30 teams took part in the jamboree at Xcel, with six courts in use throughout the day.

“I’m extremely pleased,” said Polk County head coach Molly Corhn. “I’ve got nothing but good things to say. This was a great day.

“Everyone played well. I’m so pleased.”

Polk County’s match with Pisgah was a nip-and-tuck affair that saw the Bears lead for much of the period. With some three minutes left in the match and Polk trailing, Corhn called a timeout, after which the Wolverines relied on the serving of Lily Owens and the hitting of senior Sarah Phipps to rally and take the win.

“Sarah did well. She was our go-to outside,” Corhn said. “There were times when I told (setter Kara Overholt) to set the ball just to Sarah. Those two definitely controlled the game.

“Kara did an amazing job. I had three or four coaches, a college coach and some of the referees come over and tell me how great she did.”

The jamboree also marked the varsity debut of freshmen Reagan Waddell, Kendall Hall and Cameron Capozzi. With each having played club volleyball with Xcel, the surroundings were familiar, but Corhn still praised how well the trio fared.

“I’m so proud of those three freshmen,” Corhn said. “I thought they handled the pressure of being out there the first time very well.”

Polk County has one more jamboree, next Saturday at North Henderson, before its season opener on August 19 at West Henderson.

“I got to try some different things today, moving players around in different positions and playing around with a bunch of stuff,” Corhn said. “We definitely still have some things we have to work on, but today was so rewarding. I feel great. This was an awesome day.”