The South Stanly volleyball squad improved to 4-1 on the season and 3-1 in Yadkin Valley Conference play Aug. 21 with a 3-1 home win over the Uwharrie Charter Eagles.

Scores of the match were 23-25, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-19 in favor of South Stanly.

Emma Lemons led South with 11 kills while Mattie Hinson added nine kills and Alexis Faulkner had seven kills.

Faulkner and Adison Campbell each added three service aces, while Campbell and Sidney McSwain each had three blocks.

Three South Stanly players reached double figures in digs. Campbell led with 17 while Hinson added 13 and Star Lee had 12.

Campbell also led South with 16 assists, with freshman Keeli Crisco adding 13.

Neither team led the first set by more than 15 points. Hinson’s kill gave the Bulls a 17-12 lead, but Uwharrie Charter rallied to outscore South 7-2 to tie the match, 19-19. South trailed 23-20 and scored three points in a row, but a hitting error and a kill gave the Eagles a two-point first-set win.

Uwharrie Charter took an early lead in the second set on a series of jump serves, but South kept the set close. The Bulls called timeout down 18-13 but eventually pulled into a 21-21 tie. The Eagles missed on two kill attempts, then Faulkner delivered an ace. On game point, Uwharrie mishandled a South serve to give the Bulls the win.

The third set was nip and tuck for both team, with several ties early. Tied at 12, South went on a 7-0 run punctuated at the end by a big kill from Hinson, forcing an Eagles timeout. Uwharrie Charter rallied with a 10-3 run to pull into a 22-22 tie. Faulkner’s tip kill put South up momentarily, but a service error knotted the set at 23. Finally, the Eagles were called for a double hit, giving South a two-point win.

In the fourth set, Uwharrie led 7-3 before four South points in a row, including a Hinson ace which tied the score. Hinson added a kill and a block midway through the set, putting South up 15-12 and causing the Eagles to call timeout. South led by as much as six, eventually closing out the match on a Lemmons kill.

“Early we had some letdowns, some mental mistakes,” South head coach Eric Laskowski said. “We have six seniors on the team. Those behind them are young…we changed four or five players in and out to find the mix.”

The South coach added Faulkner is one of three players fighting for the second middle blocker spot, adding she “went a long way to solidifying that spot” with her play in the game. He added South lost a number of close games last year, but the Bulls are “winning games this year we didn’t last year.”