Hickory too much for North Gaston volleyball

DALLAS — North Gaston High School is already reaping the benefits from the addition of middle school volleyball in Gaston County four years ago.

But the Wildcats want more after seeing their best season in school history end with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-16) loss to Hickory on Tuesday in the second round of the 3A state playoffs.

“I’m proud of the girls. We chip away every year,” North Gaston coach Janice James said. “Every year we go another step closer to where we want to be, and you can’t ask for any more than that.”

North Gaston (16-6) was coming off its first volleyball playoff win in school history, a first-round blanking of R-S Central, but couldn’t match up against the taller, stronger Red Tornadoes (21-2).

Hickory scored 10 of the final 11 points in the first set for a convincing win and North Gaston had trouble keeping up in the next two sets as the Red Tornadoes easily advanced to the 3A West quarterfinals.

Caitlin Rubow had seven kills and Olivia Denton added five for North Gaston. Carolyn Houser added three kills, four aces, 13 assists and five digs while libero Carter Thomas chipped in with 12 digs for the Wildcats, who led briefly early in the second and third sets.

“Hickory is a hard-hitting, hard-swinging team. I’m not taking anything away from them,” James said. “They put up a formidable wall at the net. We got around quite a few times, but when you’ve got to do it every time consistently trying to get through that wall, it’s difficult.”

North Gaston had won its second straight Big South Conference title, marking the first time the school captured back-to-back volleyball titles since winning four years in a row from 1977 to 1980.

Gaston County introduced middle school volleyball in 2005, when the current high school seniors were eighth-graders. The lack of a middle school program has been painfully obvious over the year, as North Gaston was 0-8 in the state playoffs until Saturday’s first-round victory.

Hickory, on the other hand, reached the 3A West finals last year and plans to make a repeat trip.

Margaret Locke had six kills, six digs and two saves and Anna Gibbs added six kills, six blocks and one assist for the Red Tornadoes, who will face Patton or Franklin in the next round.

“Tonight a big difference was our play at the net,” Hickory coach Jonna Ramsey said. “I talk to the girls a lot about one point at a time and one game at a time and they pretty much stick to that philosophy.”

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.