HICKORY, N.C. — The fifth-ranked Catawba Valley Community College volleyball team defeated Davidson County for its 134th consecutive Region 10 win on Tuesday night at the Tarlton Complex.
Set scores were 25-10, 25-12 and 25-17.
Eleven different Red Hawk players recorded a kill during the match — the most for the program this season.
"I was so proud of the girls," said Catawba Valley head volleyball coach Shannon Hudson. "It was nice to get some different personnel in there and give them a chance to play to see how they perform on the court. They all did really well. I'm just proud of them and their effort and how they played together."
Tuesday's home match for Catawba Valley (19-3, 8-0) started with a scary moment when Red Hawk sophomore outside hitter Meredith Patterson injured her right knee just three points into the contest.
Hudson said the unfortunate injury to Patterson provided a learning moment for her team.
"Like we saw tonight when Meredith went down in the first set, it's that 'next man up' mentality," she said. "They've got to be prepared and ready to play. Getting that game-time experience makes a big difference in them being prepared and ready when it is their turn to step in. It was very important to get that."
Amber Barker led CVCC in Tuesday's match with seven kills, Anna Clark added five kills and the tandem of Emma Clark and Lilly Weaver added four kills each. Weaver and Macy Pope also tallied five aces apiece.
Defensively, Abigail Gordon recorded a team-high 18 digs for Catawba Valley, while Clark made a team-best three blocks.
CVCC never trailed in the match to Davidson County until the third set, but rallied from down 8-6 to win eight-straight points, including three aces by Weaver, en route to remaining unbeaten in Region play.
The Red Hawks return to the court on Thursday when they travel to play Chattanooga, Tenn. to play Chattanooga State Community College at 3 p.m. The match against the Tigers is a pitstop for the team on their way to Hanceville, Ala. for the Wallace State Fall Bash.
At the Fall Bash on Friday, CVCC plays Region rival Spartanburg Methodist and Cleveland State Community College (Tenn.) before entering pool play on Saturday.
"We love this trip," Hudson said of the Tennessee-Alabama swing. "It's a fun trip for the girls to make. We get five matches in, which is huge. There's lots of playing. That's what we like to do for our program. We've got the match on Thursday on our way to the Wallace tournament. It'll be nice to have that game in route to playing some amazing competition again this weekend. It's just going to keep helping us develop and get ready for the end of the year. That's our goal."