CASTLEWOOD (Oct. 1, 2026) – On Thursday, two teams going in different directions faced off on Buddy Poole Court at Tom Allen Gymnasium. The War Eagles started strong, limiting the Blue Devils to only eight points in the first two sets. They rolled to a 25-8, 25-8, 25-18 sweep.
Castlewood (4-12, 0-5 CD) started the match with five consecutive attack errors as Rye Cove earned the first 11 points.
“Before the match, in the first set, I told them we needed to get a lead and hold on to it,” said Rye Cove coach Hayley Wolfe White. “Last year and this year, we’ve had a difficult time getting leads and keeping them. Often, we find ourselves in a hole and wait until the last minute to try to dig ourselves out. Tonight, I thought they did a pretty good job of getting a lead and staying ahead. The third set was a little close, but overall, they did what they were supposed to do.”
The second set was more of the same as the Eagles went up 2-0 in the match in a lopsided fashion.
“We made a lot of errors,” Castlewood coach Derek Allen said. “In the first two sets, it didn’t seem like we were ready to play. I don’t know if they’re tired or if it’s the sickness going around. Who knows? We started communicating better in the third set and stopped making some of the simple mistakes. That helped, but we just couldn’t find a rhythm.”
The Blue Devils did not lead in the first two sets. The first tie occurred at 1-1 in the third set after a kill by Castlewood’s Cheyenne Elam. The Eagles took the lead for good at 8-7 in the third set with a spike from Chloe Davis and maintained their advantage from then on.
“It’s hard to come back from 25-8, especially two sets in a row,” declared Allen. “We never had a lead until the third set, so it was difficult to build any momentum. It’s hard to build confidence when you’re only scoring eight points.”
A lot of the Blue Devils’ problems were self-inflicted, with errors and mistakes.
“Too many hitting errors and bad passes on easy, playable balls,” Allen said. “It’s a game of mistakes, and we made a bunch of them. Once we play as a team, I think we can keep up with anybody. We just have to get everybody on the same page at the same time. We can’t seem to get everybody there at once. It won’t work if we do it for just one set. We’ve got to do it for at least three sets.”
Rye Cove did a lot of damage from the service line, finishing the match with 14 aces.
“I’m going to be honest. I think that’s the most we’ve had so far this season,” White noted. “We focus on serving during practice. When the girls get back on the line serving, it’s up to them to stay focused, not rush, and make sure they get the ball over the net. When you’re missing five, six, or seven serves in a set, those are easy points for the other team. I’m pretty proud of our serving. We hardly missed any serves.”
Davis and Celia Stewart each had nine kills for the Eagles. Freshman Brooklyn Wilson added six kills. Lexi Shupe had 25 assists and four aces. Freshman Kendal Osborne totaled 25 digs.
“We tried some of the plays we’ve been running in practice, and they worked,” White said. “We made some silly mistakes, like net violations and letting balls hit the floor when they shouldn’t. It was just the little things. But we came out, placed the ball, and made smart offensive decisions. I’m pretty happy with that.”
Elam (five kills) and Kadence Culbertson (four kills) led the Blue Devils.
Rye Cove (7-5, 5-1 CD) won its fourth straight game. They kept pace with Eastside, the Cumberland District leader. Although the Eagles’ record isn’t overly impressive, they’ve lost to M7 powerhouses Wise Central twice and Gate City once.
“We decided to play more of the bigger Class 2 schools,” remarked White. “I’m from Gate City, and I played there. That’s the kind of schedule that helps you get better. I wanted us to have a slightly tougher schedule this year so that when we get into the postseason, we’re prepared.
“I’m all about playing bigger, better teams to get us where we need to be for the postseason. I’m not interested in just playing teams we know or think we can beat and having a perfect record.”
After a 4-3 start to the season, the Blue Devils have now dropped nine straight matches.
“The girls have been working hard in practice, showing up and wanting to be here,” commented Allen. “But when it comes to game time, maybe the nerves are getting to the younger players. They’re playing scared and playing it safe.
“We’ve got to get them to take some big swings instead of just trying to get the ball over and letting the other team make the mistakes. They need to make smart choices. They will get better as they gain more game experience.”
