Walkertown’s boys’ volleyball takes out Paisley in three sets
The Paisley Panther boys’ volleyball team await the serve during their game against Walkertown.
Photo by Timothy Ramsey
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
Walkertown’s boys’ volleyball team split the first two sets of their matchup against the Paisley Panthers. In a close third set the Wolfpack pulled out the victory by the score of 15-11.
During the first set, Walkertown jumped out to an early 6-1 lead, forcing Paisley to take a timeout to settle things down. Gabe Wagoner of Walkertown was serving well to start the game, which contributed to the lead. After the timeout, Paisley goes on a mini run capped off by a powerful spike by Wade Musser. Paisley looked to be in position to close out the first set but instead Juwan Rivas had other ideas as he shut the door onserve to preserve the 23-21 win.
In the second set, Paisley got out to a quick 4-0 lead. The Wolfpack, led by Tyler Murphy, fought back and took the lead at 7-6. Walkertown was able to stretch the lead to 14-10 before the Panthers called another time out. The break had its desired effect as Zack Travis of Paisley ran off six straight points to give Paisley the lead at 17-15.
The Panthers held on to win the set 21-18.
For the third and final set, Paisley came out with momentum from the last set, getting out to a 4-1 lead. With the third set winner only needing 15 points, getting a lead is price-less. Unphased by the early deficit, Walkertown creeps back and takes the lead 6-5. The two teams trade the lead back and forth until Walkertown ran the final four points for the 15-11 win.
“It’s always great to win, especially the first game because you never know what you really have until you come out and play,” said Don Peterson, Walkertown head coach. “You can practice, but until you’re under the lights, you can’t tell what you have. We had some good points and some bad points but it’s always good to have something there in the end to win.”
Paisley assistant coach Katie Sutherland said her team has only had the opportunity to play one game and has not had much practice time, but was happy with their effort.
“I thought they played awesome,” Sutherland continued. “In the beginning our focus was coming in as a team, and at first we looked a little shaky. But eventually they really did take on that team mentality and once they did, they kicked it in gear.”
