In the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A playoffs, No. 13 C.B. Aycock earned a 25-19, 25-20, 25-23 victory over No. 20 First Flight on Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Falcons will travel to face No. 4 Croatan in the second round on Tuesday.
“First Flight was ranked a little lower than us, but they’ve played some really good schools,” C.B. Aycock head coach Jordyn McGhee said. “I watched some game film, and I think they had a couple of starters out, which I guess was a good thing for us, but I hate it for them, but I’ll take the win any way we can get it.”
C.B. Aycock bolted out to a 16-10 lead, but First Flight hung around and trimmed the Golden Falcon’s lead down to 19-18.
However, the Golden Falcons utilized a 6-1 run, capped off by Emily Feddersen’s ace, to win the first set.
In the second set, C.B. Aycock once again built up a 16-10 advantage, but once again, First Flight battled back and pulled within 23-20.
However, Gracie Mooney’s kill helped give C.B. Aycock a decisive 24-20 lead.
“It was definitely some scrappy backyard volleyball being played, but we’ve been working on covering and getting after the ball, and they showed it in this game,” McGhee said.
The Golden Falcons found themselves down 13-11 in the third set. Back-to-back aces from Alora Stanton put the Golden Falcons in front 14-13.
Later in the set, two straight aces from Laci Best gave the Golden Falcons a 22-17 lead, but the Nighthawks used a 6-1 run to tie the game 23-23.
But C.B. Aycock recovered and won two straight points to complete the sweep and advance to the second round.
“I didn’t call a timeout in the third set because I didn’t have anything to say to them,” McGhee said. “It was a matter of them getting the job done.”
The Golden Falcons will now look advance to the third round for the first time since 2016.
“I’m super proud, and we have a great group that wants to win because volleyball is their life,” McGhee said. “So, we’re going to go as far as we can.”
