LUMBERTON — Ava Hanna and Giselle Leach are rarely, if ever, on the floor at the same time for the Lumberton volleyball game — a logical lineup move since they play the same position.
But while they’re never side-by-side, the pair complement each other well, and did so Monday — whichever of the Pirates’ outside hitters was on the floor was constantly on the attack.
The result was a combined 32 kills as the Pirates swept Purnell Swett in the quarterfinals of the United-8 Conference tournament.
“They’re the team, as far as our offense goes,” Lumberton coach Bryan Hales said. “They do well. Ava played great tonight, Giselle did too.”
Hanna had 18 kills for the third-seeded Pirates (14-9), while Leach had 14, continuing the trend of the pair leading the team in that category throughout the season.
“(It was) my hitting, me being able to block the other side, and reading it, tipping it over and covering the ball,” Leach said. “As we alternate, we still play the role with each other to contribute to the team.”
A key point in the match came in the second set, when sixth-seeded Purnell Swett (10-10) pulled out gradually early in the set to take a 16-10 lead. Lumberton scored six straight points to tie the score at 16-16, and the teams essentially traded points until a 22-22 tie. The Pirates then scored the next three points to win the set 25-22 and take a 2-0 match lead, with a Hanna kill bringing Lumberton to a set point and a Christian McDowell block earning the clinching point.
McDowell had six kills and six blocks, including several blocks in key spots in the tight second set.
“My biggest thing was just being on time for my block,” McDowell said. “Especially the first set, I felt like I was a little off, so when we came into the second set, I just really wanted to be in the right spot at the right time and I felt like I did the majority of the time.”
Several more Pirates filled up the stat sheet. Kaylee Lancaster had 14 digs, Jaelyn Hammond had eight digs and two aces, Kylena Bell had two aces and Emersyn Norton had three blocks. Leighann Martin had 19 assists and Chloe Campbell had 16 assists.
Adisyn Bland had seven kills, five digs and two blocks for Purnell Swett, Kamryn Locklear had 25 digs and three aces, Braci Woods had three kills and 10 digs, Kiley Locklear had five digs and Harley Barfield had two kills.
“I’m super proud of the way they came out and fought tonight, and two girls that have never stepped on the court with varsity stepped on the court today, and they played well, they didn’t hurt us,” Purnell Swett coach Corey Deese said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what next year holds. … I’m very pleased with the way they played defense, and just played, they didn’t give up.”
Lumberton led 12-5 in the first set before the Rams closed to 12-8, but the Pirates responded to pull away to a 20-11 lead and won the set 25-17.
After the Pirates’ close second-set win, the Pirates led 9-5 early in the third before a 10-1 run to take a 19-6 lead. Lumberton won the set 25-11 to end the match.
“We felt a little flat,” Hales said. “I was worried a little bit because we beat them 3-0 last week, and usually when you beat somebody 3-0, you come back the next week and you let your guard down. We didn’t play our best ball tonight by no means.”
Lumberton advanced to play Cape Fear in the United-8 tournament semifinal on Tuesday. The Pirates enter that game at 29th in the RPI rankings for 4A East, appearing to have a berth in the 32-team state playoff regional field likely in hand.
“It’s a tough match, but we can beat them,” Hales said. “We’ve hung with them, hung close; we’ve always lost when it gets 20-20, just them last five points, but hopefully this time we can pull it out.”
Purnell Swett saw its season come to an end, with the Rams ranked 39th in the RPI as of Tuesday morning.
Deese is excited for the future after her young team won 10 games this fall, but also thanked seniors Bland, Anileigh Lockelar and Addison Locklear for their contributions to the program and leadership on this year’s team.
“They’ve been a rock, a balance,” Deese said. “Great mentors to the younger players. Very encouraging mentors to my younger players. Just constantly, if they do something wrong, they kind of correct them, but they sugarcoat it and the girls bounce back. This team has just been one of the best teams I’ve coached, chemistry-wise; they’ve all gotten along and there was just no drama.”
Sports editor Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at cstiles@robesonian.com. You can follow him on X at @StilesOnSports.