Taking another glance

Northern Nash 3 (12-5, 8-2 Big East), Rocky Mount 1 (9-8, 7-3)

What happened: No matter the reasoning, the end result is the same. Northern Nash enacted some revenge on its rival and won the regular season conference title. After a short battle – the first two sets – Northern Nash dominated the second half of the third set and the entire fourth set. The Knights turned what was a hard-fought match into a cakewalk.

Northern Nash showed the energy that coach Patricia Haggerty said was missing in the Knights’ first game against Rocky Mount, but it also dominated in every facet.

The Knights service was better than Rocky Mount’s and put them in position to score. Deja Lewis and Camille Branch dominated at the net – the Gryphons had no one to compete with them. And after a rough second game, Northern Nash’s communication was superb. Rocky Mount’s communication went down hill from that point.

Why it happened: Home-court advantage. It’s plain and simple. It’s so much easier for a high school team to play at home than on the road. Anyone in the gym last night would know: For a regular season volleyball match, the crowd was big and it was loud. That made the difference, I mean other than Northern Nash outplaying Rocky Mount.

Northern Nash was better, but the crowd made the Knights that much better.

Up next: Both teams begin play in the Big East Conference tournament on Monday. Seedings and times have yet to be determined, but the tournament will be played at Rocky Mount High.