Editor’s note: This story was published online ahead of Northwood and Woods Charter’s Sweet 16 matchups. It’s since been updated to reflect the following matches’ results.
CHAPEL HILL — Resilience is one of the primary ingredients for winning a title.
Facing adversity, tackling difficulty and having the ability to bounce back from it is a quality only given to a select few teams and athletes.
But after Tuesday’s second-round NCHSAA playoff matches, it’s clear that it’s also a requirement to play volleyball in Chatham County.
On Tuesday night, both the No. 7 Woods Charter Wolves (1A) and No. 12 Northwood Chargers (3A) advanced to the Sweet 16 after hard-fought matches against tough opponents as both teams continue to have the best seasons in their respective program's history.
Northwood, having traveled an hour and a half to Fayetteville to take on No. 5 Cape Fear, dropped the first two sets to the Colts (28-26, 25-21) before gaining its footing and taking the next three (26-24, 25-21, 15-9) to win the five-set thriller.
The Chargers went on to sweep the No. 4 Croatan Cougars (25-18, 25-16, 25-19) on the road in the Sweet 16 before falling to the No. 1 Cedar Ridge Fighting Red Wolves (26-28, 21-25, 14-25) in the Elite 8.
Woods Charter, on the other hand, hosted the No. 10 East Columbus Gators for its second-round contest, but despite the 3-0 final score, the Wolves were on the brink of a collapse in the second set.
Yet, as resilient teams do, they bent, but didn’t break.
“I feel relieved and fortunate,” Scott Green, the Wolves’ head coach, said following the win. “They had a good team, we were fortunate to win. We had a couple of rotations where we were having trouble with their servicing — they’ve got good servers — but we managed to eventually get through that and take advantage of our attack.”
After a first set in which the Wolves started out in a 5-1 hole before storming back and taking 22 of the next 29 points to win the set 25-19, they found their momentum carrying over to the second set, dominating the Gators from the jump.
Wolves sophomore outside hitter Lexi Smollen was responsible for all of her team’s first four points — including three kills and a combined block at the net with senior Emma Hobbs — but after an ace by senior Jana Thompson, a gentle kill by senior Ada Green and a few other impressive points from Smollen and her teammates, Woods Charter had taken a 12-3 lead and looked to be rolling to a second-set victory.
But in the playoffs, teams rarely roll over and die. The Gators were no exception. East Columbus suddenly kicked it into gear, stepping up and making big plays when they needed it. The Gators went on a 9-1 run — including three aces and six total possessions that never made it back to the Gators’ side — as their serving began giving the Wolves fits.
In the blink of an eye, the score was 13-12 with the Wolves holding on to a narrow one-point lead with almost nothing going right for them.
“I don’t think that server served in the first set, so for them to come out and have a great server, it was a little bit of a shock to us because we were used to the same six,” Smollen said of the Wolves’ second-set woes. “So she got out there and (her serve) had topspin. Nobody had used topspin all game. So it took a little bit of adjusting.”
For the second time in the match, though, the Wolves’ resiliency kicked in.
Even as the Gators were on their tails, the Wolves never stumbled and gave up their lead. They were on top the whole way.
With the set 15-14 in favor of Woods Charter, East Columbus junior Harmony Somerville hit the ball out of bounds at the back of the Wolves’ zone.
From there, the Wolves won the next four points, including a point on a nice hit from freshman Maya Sheridan, two strong attacks from Smollen (featuring one emphatic kill) and a kill by Green where she caught East Columbus off guard, knocking it unexpectedly to the left-center of the court.
Volleyball — like basketball — is a game of runs. And Woods Charter’s 5-0 run in the second set not only sealed the deal on a 2-0 match lead, but also sealed East Columbus’ postseason fate.
“We try to encourage each other — not criticize — and just build each other up, lift each other up,” Green said about bouncing back in the second set, “and just forget about the last play and go on to the next one. That’s helped us the whole season.”
The Gators went on to win just five more points for the remainder of the set as the Wolves re-took control, eventually winning it, 25-19.
In the third set, it was all Woods Charter from the first serve.
Sheridan had a strong run at the service line, Smollen and Green combined for a couple of stuffed shots at the net and Thompson, Hobbs and senior Julia Christian held their own, saving points during impressive volleys.
The Wolves had officially found their rhythm, jumping out to a 21-4 third-set lead in a set that saw major contributions from everyone in white and green.
Despite a hiccup that allowed the Gators to win eight straight points, it was too little, too late, as the Wolves took the set, 25-12, to win the match, 3-0, and advance to their first Sweet 16 in program history.
“We’ve got a group of seniors who have played together for four years and their communication with each other, plus the newer, younger underclassmen,” Green said, “it’s just all come together this season.”
No. 7 Woods Charter (18-4) went on to lose to the No. 2 Neuse Charter Cougars (25-2) on the road in the Sweet 16 (20-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-14).
It was the Wolves’ first road game of the postseason and their first road game overall since Oct. 13 against Clover Garden (a 3-1 victory). But if the first two rounds of postseason showed anything, it’s that this Woods Charter team isn’t afraid, no matter the competition.
“I’m going to go look at some video tonight of our opponent and try to prepare for them tomorrow as best we can,” Green said before the match against Neuse Charter. “(Right now), the whole group is just gelled together in a great way. It’s fun to watch.”
Reporter Victor Hensley can be reached at vhensley@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @Frezeal33.