Carson volleyball. Brian Wilhite photo. By Mike London mike.
london@salisburypost.com CHINA GROVE — Carson volleyball got its biggest win in a long time on Tuesday night, with the pounding right fists of Reese Joyner, Tasean Perkins and Katy Falkowski making a powerful statement in a 25-23, 25-13 and 25-17 victory over previously unbeaten Lake Norman Charter. Setter Rylee Hedrick orchestrated a surprising sweep in a matchup of teams that were 7 and 8 in the 3A West RPI rankings, and the Cougars, most notably libero Kaylee Thonen, dug everything the Knights could send at them.
Thonen made digs on her knees, on her back, on her tummy and running into the bleachers. It was a match played at high level, with brutal spikes being answered by equally breathtaking digs. “We played really good defense, and Kaylee always leads our defense,” long-time Carson coach Kelan Rogers said.
“And Chloe Webster had a tremendous night on the back row. I don’t remember her making an error.” Carson (18-5, 12-1) tied the Knights (16-1, 13-1) for first place in the South Piedmont Conference.
It’s likely they’ll meet for a third time in the conference tournament championship game to decide which team will be seeded as the SPC’s “1” for the 3A state playoffs. Before that happens, however, both squads have more matches to take care of. Carson has three left in the regular season, including one against a good South Rowan squad that dropped a feverish, five-set match to East Rowan on T.