CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Catawba Valley Community College volleyball team's 2019-20 season came to an end on Friday during the second day of the National Junior College Athletic Association DII tournament.
The Red Hawks finish their fall campaign with a 34-6 overall record.
"I couldn't be prouder of our girls and how they fought so hard together this weekend," said CVCC head volleyball coach Shannon Hudson. "We've had some tough injuries late in the season to deal with, and the team just refused to quit. Perseverance and determination were qualities evident on the court and even though we didn't finish as high as we would have liked to, each player gave their all and supported each other and that's all I can ask for as a coach."
Fifth-seeded CVCC won its opening match in consolation play on Friday, defeating 13th-seeded Waubonsee in four sets.
However, the Red Hawks fell in the second match of the day to ninth-seeded Kirkwood in four sets, eliminating them from tournament play.
Friday's match was the final for nine Red Hawk sophomores — Macy Pope, Sage Harrington, Meredith Patterson, Bre Myers, Abigail Gordon, Emma Clark, Anna Clarke and Siena Naotala.
Catawba Valley 3, Waubonsee (Ill.) 1
Behind career-high performances from middle hitter Emma Clark and setter Macy Pope, the Red Hawks earned a four-set victory against the Chiefs in their opening game of consolation play on Friday afternoon.
Set scores were 24-26, 25-19, 25-21 and 25-22.
Pope etched a new career high with 27 assists, while Clark tied her career high in kills set on Oct. 1.
Middle hitter Sage Harrington added 12 kills in the attack for CVCC.
Defensively, the Red Hawks tallied 84 digs, including 20 from libero Bre Myers and 19 from outside hitter Aasia McNeill.
Kirkwood (Iowa) 3, Catawba Valley 1
Falling behind by two sets, a late rally by the Red Hawks came up short in a four-set loss to the Eagles on Friday night at the Charleston Civic Center.
Set scores were 25-17, 26-24, 20-25 and 25-12.
Emma Clark paced CVCC with 10 kills and four blocks, while Siena Naotala and Sage Harrington added eight kills apiece on the attack.
Setters Macy Pope (17) and Amber Barker (16) combined for 33 assists to help facilitate the Red Hawk offense.
Libero Bre Myers recorded 17 digs to help lead the defensive effort for CVCC.
