THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 30, 1996 TAG: 9610300465
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CAMDEN LENGTH: 45 lines
The dynamic duo of Katie Liles and Stephanie Mathews combined for 24 kills to lead Swansboro High School to a 15-10, 12-15, 15-2, 15-3 win over previously unbeaten Camden County High in the Eastern Region 1A volleyball championships Tuesday night.
Swansboro, which has reached the state championship five straight years, will face either Elkin or Surry County in the 1A state championship Saturday in Charlotte.
It was Camden's third straight trip to the Eastern Region championship and its third straight loss to Swansboro (21-5).
Liles and Mathews hardly missed an opportunity to spike when they were set up. Liles led with 13 kills and Mathews added 11.
``We expected them to give us a lot of competition, and we knew they were a good serving team,'' said Liles, a Swansboro senior who has reached the 1A finals every year. ``We knew if we did our usual hitting we would win. The two of us have hit like this all season.''
Camden's main staple, its serve, was ineffective as the Lady Bruins pounded ball after ball into the net.
``We gave up a lot of points,'' said Camden head coach Dianne Overton. ``Our serve was just not there at all and we do depend a lot on it.''
Overton said a case of nerves may have hurt her team early. Camden went up 3-1 in the first game after a spike by Mindy Meiggs, but the Lady Pirates went on a 12-2 run when Camden players miscommunicated on plays.
``They were nervous and keyed up. They didn't seem to be ready to play,'' Overton said.
Camden came back in the second game and served much better. The Lady Pirates made a game of it and went up 12-11 on a miss hit by Camden's Brittina Griffin. Camden scored three straight points to win the game, including an ace by Kelly Ward and a tip by Laura Forehand.
``In the second game we served pretty good and I thought we were out of the slump, but then we went back into it,'' Overton said.
Experience took over, and Swansboro dominated the last two games. While the Lady Pirates smiled and joked, even on missed points, Camden grew tentative. Up 9-2 in the third game, Swansboro scored the last six points.
In the fourth game, the Lady Pirates jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back. After Camden's Connie Spellman scored on an ace, Swansboro ran off the next five points to go up 11-1. by CNB