West Stanly claims RRC tourney title in four sets

Published 5:05 pm Friday, October 25, 2019

The West Stanly Colts volleyball squad fell behind early Wednesday night in the finals of the Rocky River Conference tournament played at Central Academy against the No. 2-seeded Mount Pleasant Tigers.

Undaunted, the top-seeded Colts fought back to win the next three sets and earn a 3-1 win, making it a sweep of the regular-season and tournament championships for West.

Scores of the match were 21-25, 25-16, 25-14 and 25-17 in favor of the Colts (22-3).

Dani Moss led West with 16 kills while Kayli Cleaver added nine kills and Madison Kee had eight. Freshman Kelsey Parker led the Colts with a person and team season-high mark of 24 digs while Addie Barbee dished our 42 assists.

“(Addie) did a fantastic job running the offense,” West head coach Stephanie Dutton said.

“We always love the rivalry matchup between West Stanly and Mount Pleasant, especially when competing for the tournament title.”

Dutton said the win was a huge accomplishment for the players and the program.

“Being the regular season champs and winning the conference tournament was one of our goals going into this year, however, going undefeated in the conference was an exciting bonus,” Dutton said.

The win for West is the team’s second straight tournament title and sixth in the last seven seasons.

Along with the championship, West earned individual honors. Moss, Kee, Cleaver and Addie Barbee were named All-Conference, with Raelee Furr and Caylee Clayton as honorable mention. Barbee was named the player of the year while Dutton was the conference’s Coach of the Year.

“I can’t help but to keep smiling for how excited and proud I am of our team,” Dutton said.

The Colts are a No. 6 seed heading into the 2A state playoffs and host Bandys on Saturday at 2 p.m., a game for which Dutton said the team is looking forward to playing.

About Charles Curcio

Charles Curcio has served as the sports editor of the Stanly News & Press for more than 16 years and has written numerous news and feature storeis as well. He was awarded the NCHSAA Tim Stevens Media Representative of the Year and named CNHI Sports Editor of the Year in 2014. He has also won an award from Boone Newspapers, and has won four North Carolina Press Association awards.

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