Coastal Christian volleyball takes home the state title
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Adversity was the name of the game this past Saturday when Coastal Christian faced off with Asheville Christian in the state volleyball championship.
The hurdle was in front of the Centurions of Coastal Christian, having made the state semifinals the past two seasons only to fall short of the final goal: a state championship. That goal was finally realized at home on Saturday with the visiting Lions of Asheville Christian coming to town to challenge the Centurions.
The match didn鈥檛 start out in the favor of the eventual champs. Asheville Christian took the first two games and put Coastal Christian in a 2-0 hole. Resiliency showed its face and the local team fought back hard to take the next three games to win the state title.
When asked about the difficulty and being in a 2-0 hole, Coach Dudley Raye of Coastal Christian responded with confidence.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what they do,鈥� Coach Raye . 鈥淓very tough game, we lose the first two.鈥�
The two games the Centurions dropped were relatively close, with scores of 25-23 and 25-19.
Faced with elimination if they dropped another game, the Coastal Christian team dug deep and found a way to make a historic comeback to win sets three and four, followed by a forced tiebreak set in game five.
As a point of reference, the seniors of Coastal Christian have never lost on their home court. Saturday would be much of the same. The importance of having the state finals at home was an incredible benefit for the local team and a huge boost to their confidence and mindset going into the match against the Lions.
The Road to the Championship
Looking at their record, you can see that the Centurions were built to make a deep playoff run and potentially come out with the state title. The goal was set before the season and a 31-2 record made the Coastal Christian team one of the favorites to finish the job this year.
Before the third game of the match, Coach Raye had to wonder if this year was going to be another letdown like the previous two years.
鈥淵ou always want to win in three, but the ones you remember are the ones that go five,鈥� Coach Raye , showing that adversity can often burn the greatest sports memories.
How were the Centurions able to dig deep and find their way to victory? Those in the crowd could see the closeness, the teamwork and the belief this team has in each other.
鈥淭hey love each other so much, this means so much more,鈥� Coach Raye , emphasizing that he knew his team could find a way to secure victory.
Strength in the Seniors
Once the third match started, the seniors on the court for Coastal Christian put the game on their backs. The third set opened with a 10-5 lead for the Centurions and then an 8-0 run when senior Kelly McConekey had five of her 19 kills in that set.
The fourth set was similar to the third, with Coastal taking an early lead and then senior Lydia Pate taking over with six kills in the set.
As the fifth set got going, the story wasn鈥檛 going to change, only the name of the senior player that was the catalyst. In this set, Beth Witzenman took over the game, setting up her teammates for some glorious kills and several aces when she was serving. At the end of the set, McConekey came up with the game-winning block to seal the deal.
Championship Feelings
After the match, McConkey parroted her coach.
鈥淚 think the games that stick out the most to me with this team are the ones that go five, and we鈥檙e always down by two at the beginning,鈥� she .
What an incredible way for the seniors from the Coastal Christian Centurions volleyball team to end their high school careers: as state champions.
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