By Dylan Branscome
The Davidson-Davie STORM outlasted the Forsyth Tech Trailblazers in a five-set battle on Tuesday, 25-6, 25-27, 24-26, 26-24, 15-9. This win now makes Davidson 19-5 on the season and 5-2 in Region 10 play.
Davidson was led by Ciara Major (19 kills), Anna Edwards (18 kills), and Carly Edwards (two aces, 12 kills, three blocks). Chloe Painter also had 45 assists, and Brynna Boyer had three aces.
The opening set was a dominant showing by the STORM, winning 25-6. Major had four kills followed by both Anna Edwards and Cameron Ostle having three kills each. Both Faith Powell and Carly Edwards had two aces as well.
The second set is where the Trailblazers came out strong. This set went to 27 points as it was truly back-and-forth entirely, minus the start. The STORM started hot on a 10-0 run to get ahead 10-2, but Forsyth Tech was able to tie the set at 18 a piece. Both teams were showing both defensive and offensive prowess to keep it tight, but the Trailblazers ended up taking the set, tying the match 1-1. Major had five kills, Anna Edwards had three kills and four blocks, and Carly Edwards had four kills and two blocks.
The third set was kicked off by Major getting three straight kills to set the tone. However, the Trailblazers were still playing aggressive, eventually getting the score to 17-24. That’s when the STORM went on a 7-0 run to tie the game behind a big Major kill and an ace by Boyer. Still though, the Trailblazers prevailed and took a 2-1 lead of the match. Major had five kills in the set and Anna Edwards had three.
The STORM were now entering a must-win fourth set to extend the match to five, and this proved to be another exciting back-and-forth set between two very competitive Region 10 teams. Anna Edwards had three straight kills to tie the set 16-16 and it continued to be great volley after great volley from that point forward. Major had a huge kill to tie 20-20, and the STORM stayed resilient to get the 26-24 win in the set. Anna Edwards had five kills, Major had four, and Carly Edwards and Karrington Batten both got a pair of kills themselves.
The final set was kicked off by Anna Edwards leading the charge offensively. Ostle then got two straight kills to go up 9-6 and force a timeout by the Trailblazers. Out of the timeout, the STORM never let up, and Major ended up getting the match-winning kill after a 2-hour battle. Anna Edwards had four kills, Carly Edwards and Ostle both has three, and Painter had 11 assists.
Even though the STORM were down 2-1, they still managed to dig deep and win the match overall by staying intense, according to head coach Emma Carter.
“We really focused on staying calm in big moments, but we also had the right intensity,” Carter said post-game. “The girls started trusting each other more and playing as a team every point, and that’s when things started going right for us.”
The Davidson-Davie STORM return to action on Thursday, Oct. 9 in another conference match-up against the Guilford Tech Titans at 7:00 P.M. EST at Brinkley Gym.