ALBEMARLE — Entering the week, a pair of Stanly County high school volleyball teams were two victories away from advancing to the championship round of the 2024 NCHSAA state playoffs.
Both the West Stanly Colts (25-3) of the Rocky River Conference and North Stanly Comets (25-6) of the Yadkin Valley Conference made it to the fourth round of the state’s 2A tournament bracket — with the potential to meet up together in the Final Four regional semifinals.
However, just one of the two teams advanced on Tuesday night.
In two West Region matchups, the No. 4 Colts suffered a 3-2 road loss to No. 1 McMichael Phoenix (28-2), while the No. 6 Comets defeated the No. 7 Community School of Davidson Spartans (24-5) 3-2 at home.
The Comets are now set to travel to McMichael for a regional matchup against the Phoenix on Thursday night.
“Super proud of our amazing Comets,” the North Stanly Booster Club wrote online following the team’s win. “We have not one, but two incredible athletes ranked in the top 75 in the state for kills! Shalyn Bell and Emmy Talbert absolutely crushed it last night, racking up so many more kills. Let’s keep this momentum going.”
Riding an eight-game winning streak, West Stanly had previously took down No. 29 West Wilkes (9-11) in a 3-0 finish before defeating No. 13 Southwestern Randolph (16-12) 3-1 and besting No. 5 East Surry (21-5) 3-0 in the first three rounds of the tournament.
North Stanly’s streak of victories is even larger, winning 20 games in a row dating back to Aug. 29.
The Comets had previously won 3-0 over No. 27 Walkertown (15-11) in the opening round and went on to top No. 22 North Surry (13-12) 3-0 and No. 3 Randleman (20-5) 3-0.
A potential regional round matchup on Oct. 31 between West and North would have been the third contest of the year between the two schools and serve as their season tiebreaker on a big stage. On Aug. 20, the Colts pulled out a 3-1 home victory over the Comets; North returned the favor just over a month later as it recorded a 3-2 home win over its intracounty opponent on Sept. 23. Both teams have only allowed a single loss since these respective losses.
In terms of hitting percentage, senior Rory Huneycutt (.414) led West, while Bell (.284) leads North; Huneycutt also tops the Colts in total blocks (67) as Bell has a team-best 5.7 kills per set.
The 2024 NCHSAA Volleyball Championship game is scheduled for Nov. 2.