Kinston volleyball puts together best three-match stretch since 2013
Kinston volleyball puts together best three-match stretch since 2013
Photo by: William Hardy
KINSTON — For the first time in nearly 13 years, Kinston volleyball has put together a three-match stretch like this.
Dating back to last season’s finale against Tarboro, the Vikings have won six sets over their past three matches, going 6-5 in sets during that span. It is Kinston’s best three-match stretch in sets won since Oct. 15, 2013.
The latest step came with a 3-1 victory over Eastern Wayne, as Kinston bounced back after dropping the opening set and won the next three, 25-16, 25-21 and 25-22, to improve to 1-1 on the season.
For head coach Shonda Hines, the result continued what she felt was already beginning to show in the Vikings’ season opener against North Lenoir.
“Feels good to be 1-1,” Hines said. “I felt like after the performance against North Lenoir despite the loss I felt that we had a great chance to pull out the victory tonight.”
That confidence showed after Eastern Wayne took the first set 25-19. Kinston responded immediately and controlled the second before finishing off two competitive sets to close the match.
The Vikings are working with a seven-player roster this season, a group Hines calls her “SUPER 7.”
The team includes seniors Harmonee Roberson, K’Niyah Whitfield, Kyra Lee and Madison Green; juniors Diara Gooding and Tanija Sutton; and sophomore Kinsley Cowles.
Hines is also joined by assistants Christopher Bradshaw and Brooklyn Payne.
The small roster has created a team built heavily around familiarity. With the exception of Cowles, the group has played together since middle school and through the past three years of high school.
“Chemistry is so important and thats what this year’s team success will be built off of,” Hines said. “I have a great group of athletic young ladies that leave it on the court every night and thats all you can ask as a coach.”
Kinston finished 2-15 last season after going 0-15 in each of the previous two seasons, making the recent three-match stretch a measurable sign of the progress Hines has continued working toward.
Still, the early story is less about what came before and more about what this group is beginning to establish now.
“These ladies play fast and they play hard and most importantly they play good together,” Hines said.
For Kinston, seven players and years of familiarity are beginning to produce results.
And for the first time since 2013, those results have come together across a three-match stretch worth noticing.
