Robbinsville flexes in divisional opener
Murphy – The Lady Knights showed up to show out.
In perhaps its most convincing showing against its top conference rival, Robbinsville cruised through its first match this year against Murphy, going on lengthy tears and showing a swagger that could propel the Lady Knights to long-term success in a 25-13, 25-18, 22-25, 25-13 win Tuesday.
After opening a 16-7 lead in set one, Robbinsville (5-2, 1-0) gave up five straight against the program that halved the Smoky Mountain Conference title with the Lady Knights last season. Kadey Phillips called a wise timeout to calm down Robbinsville – and halt Murphy’s momentum.
It worked to perfection. The Knights got the next point and went on a 9-1 run overall to claim the opening segment.
Late in set two, Aubrie Wachacha made some excellent reads while manning front-middle offense, with her selections of kills, tips and pushes making the Bulldogs’ life hectic down the stretch. Appropriately enough, she clinched the set on an ace – a duty that has earned her top billing in the service rotation, as well as the team lead in aces entering Tuesday’s match (21; final stats could not be confirmed before Wednesday’s press deadline).
Murphy failed to get as flustered in set three as it did in the closing volleys of sets one and two, even claiming the Lady Bulldogs’ first four-point advantage of the match as a result.
Locked in, Maddison Seabolt delivered a stiff kill to squander Robbinsville’s first chance at sweeping Murphy since the Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament Finals on Oct. 23, 2019.
Set four quickly spiraled into a no-doubter, with the Lady Knights racing to a 17-4 lead. A service error from Murphy’s Addyson Dickey ultimately sent the Bulldogs packing.
Prior to the conference opener, Robbinsville’s only other action of the week came in the form of a tough 5-set loss at Asheville on Aug. 24: 23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 14-25, 11-15. The Knights had previously bested the 4A Cougars for their first win of the year at home Aug. 15: 25-22, 27-25, 15-25, 13-25, 13-15.
In junior-varsity contests, Robbinsville dropped to 1-5 on the year after a 12-25, 11-25 loss in Asheville; and a 14-25, 11-25 loss at Murphy.
The only middle-school match of the week saw Robbinsville improve to 3-0 by downing Murphy 25-14, 25-20 on Tuesday.