Volleyball
Hoggard 3 Topsail 0
(25-15, 25-22, 27-25)
The Vikings continued to flex its dominance over Mideastern Conference opponents on Thursday night as Hoggard defeated Topsail 3-0 in a straight set sweep to remain unbeaten in league play.
With 14 kills, Kirby Smith led the Vikings attack. Senior libero Madie Schider picked up 17 digs, while setter Samantha Shuffler finished with 20 assists and three aces.
Hoggard improved to 5-0 in conference and 8-4 overall. The Vikings are in cruise control among the seven-team division with a two game lead atop the conference as three-time defending league champions.
Selena Biele and Victoria Elder paced the Topsail attack with six kills apiece. Kaylee Kyle had 14 assists, while Biele and Azia Anderson recorded 10 digs each.
Topsail saw its three match win streak snapped, falling to 3-3 in league play and 7-4 overall.
South Brunswick 3 New Hanover 2New Hanover played its second five-set match of the week on Thursday, but this time the Wildcats were unable to grab the result as South Brunswick rallied for a 19-17 victory in the decisive fifth game to grab a 3-2 conference win.
The Cougars jumped out to a two-games-to-none advantage before New Hanover stormed back to tie the contest at two sets apiece. South Brunswick snapped a three-game skid to get back to the .500 mark at 6-6 overall and 2-3 in league play. New Hanover fell to 2-3 in the division and 6-4 on the year.
Ashley 3 Laney 1
(22-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-18)
After taking Hoggard and Topsail to five-sets in their last two conference games, the Ashley volleyball team got over the hump on Thursday and rallied from down a set to pick up a 3-1 victory against Laney for the Screaming Eagles first league win this season.
Ashley evened the match at one-game apiece with a 26-24 triumph before using a strong effort to grab a 25-18 result and putting things away in the fourth set. Olivia Berry played a strong role in the passing game at setter for the Screaming Eagles, while Katherine Boudreau led the attack.
Hannah Freas paced Laney with 14 kills and Alex Erling remained consistent at setter with 33 assists. Meredith Pooley was on her toes along the back line with 28 digs for the Bucs.
The Screaming Eagles moved to 1-4 in conference and 7-6 overall. Laney dropped both league games this week to fall to 3-2 in the division and 6-3 on the year.
Croatan 3 North Brunswick 2
(25-18, 24-26, 21-25, 25-23, 15-5)
Kaylee Scoggins finished with 12 kills, five aces and 19 digs for North Brunswick, but the Scorpions could not hold on to a 2-games-to-1 lead in a five-set setback against Croatan. Aliah Johnson had 22 assists for North Brunswick and Unique Hines added six kills.
Soccer
Cape Fear Academy 9 Fayetteville Christian 1
Zach Tomosunas tallied three times in the opening eight minutes of play en route to a 9-1 result for Cape Fear Academy on Thursday. Ford Wright recorded four assists, while Ugonna Agbafe, Landon Pierpan and Ford Chappell notched their first career goals at the varsity level. The Hurricanes moved to 4-0 in conference and 10-3 overall.
Fayetteville Academy 5 Coastal Christian 1
Douglas McKinney prevented the shutout with a goal to put Coastal Christian on the board off an assist from Matt Ward in the 74th minute, but the Centurions dropped a 5-1 affair at Fayetteville Academy on Thursday. Coastal Christian fell to 10-2-1 overall and 0-1 in conference.
North Brunswick 3 Whiteville 2
North Brunswick grabbed a 3-2 win against Whiteville on Thursday. Raunel Dominguez put the Scorpions on the board and tallied the game-winner for his second goal of the night. Bryan Lopez and Liam Davies each picked up an assist, while Robert Fairbanks recorded the other North Brunswick goal.
