Coach Humphrey's Take - October 22, 2007 (from www.ashleyathletics.com)

1-2-3 GO EAGLES!

Sarah Goes for the Kill!

Lady Eagles Volleyball Successful in Landing Playoff Berth......Come Up Just Short Against Green Hope HS

The Lady Eagles ended their season Saturday night in the 1st round of the state playoffs against a very good, experienced Green Hope HS team.

The Lady Eagles finished with an 8 - 10 record overall and 6-6 in the Mideastern conference, good enough for a 3rd place finish and a 2nd straight berth in the state playoffs!

We would like to thank everyone who has supported us this year. A special thank you goes out to the REP club (Rally Eagle Pride). Several of the kids came to Cary for the game Saturday and it was nice to have their support along with our ever faithful parents.

Thanks to all the teachers (especially 4th period teachers) for working with the girls when they missed class or needed to stay for make-up work.

My parents have made my job so much easier and what I and this team have done this season would not be possible without everyone's help.

Thanks for another great year,
Kelly

Ashley Earns a Playoff Berth for 2nd year in a row!

Ashley volleyball earned their 2nd straight playoff berth and will travel to Green Hope HS in Wake County for their first round match on Saturday, October 20, 2007 at 7 pm.

The final match with Laney determined the final seeding from the Mideastern Conference, with Hoggard ending up 1st, Laney locking up 2nd with a hard-earned win against the Eagles, and Ashley getting the 3rd berth.

Congrats to the Ashley Screaming Eagles Volleyball team as they go onto the State Playoffs!

Coach Humphrey's Take - Oct. 16, 2007 (from www.ashleyathletics.com)

The Lady Eagles traveled to Laney Tuesday night with the intention of playing them again Wednesday to determine the 2nd seed in the state playoffs. But we let ourselves down with too many errors. We came out a bit shaky in game 1, letting Laney take that one, 18-25. The Eagles bounced back in game 2 to take a close game, 25-22! Things appeared to be going our way and then Game 3-- one, I’d rather not rehash because we hurt ourselves (12-25) L. We came out for Game 4 and things were back and forth. Laney began to pull way but the Lady Eagles kept fighting. With the score 17-24, Laney’s middle hitter hit one long—the down official first called the ball out and point for us, then the up official questioned a touch—the down official then called a touch. I questioned who and the number, which neither official could provide. They called the game and the match. It’s all well and fine to lose to a good team but it is heart wrenching for these girls to play hard and have it decided on a questionable call. I am a firm believer in letting the kids decide and play it out.

We still received the 3rd seed for the state playoffs and are going to take on Green Hope or Lee County. I will forward team, time and place as soon as I know.


Some stats from last game:

Jessica McGill: 4 kills, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 digs---She took one dig right in the chest. It was so hard that it knocked the breath out of her and somehow she managed to get up for the next play!!
Kelsey Hopper: 7 kills, 6 blocks
Jordan Sutton: 11 assists
Amanda White: 5 kills, 1 ace
Sarah Harriss: 6 kills, 4 blocks, 2 digs
Samantha Dowless: 6 digs, 1 ace
Stephanie Willetts: 4 kills

A special thank you to the REP (Rally Eagle Pride) that showed up for our game last night. Also to Coach Dimock who loaned them some "spirit" jerseys and Ms. Pinnick for letting them use the Eagle Mascot. We appreciate the support!

October 16: Ashley @ Laney (from Wilmington Star News)

Laney 3 - Ashley 1
Overall: 8-9, Conference: 6-6

Scores
25-18 (L), 22-25 (A), 25-12 (L), 25-16 (A)

Statistics
Jordan Sutton: 11 assists
Jessica McGill: 4 kills, 6 assists, 3 digs, 2 blocks
Kelsey Hopper: 7 kills, 6 blocks
Sarah Harriss: 6 kills, 4 blocks, 2 digs
Stephanie Willitts: 4 kills
Samantha Dowless: 6 digs
Amanda White: 5 kills

October 9: White Oak @ Ashley Senior Night (Coach Humphrey's Take)

Senior Night for Ashley High School Volleyball
Caitlin, Stephanie, Coach Humphrey, Jordan, Sarah, Jessica and Samantha


Excitement was in the air for senior night and the girls rose to the occasion!

The JV team got it started with a back-and-forth first game that ended with Eagles on top, 27-25. Some adjustments were made in game 2, mainly cutting down on mistakes and finally being aggressive!!! The girls started hitting, tipping and making better choices with their shot selections. Eagles go on win game 2 25-21 and the match.

Before the varsity match, six seniors were recognized along with their parents. Lauren Talton did a magnificent job introducing the players and their families. Too many to name chorus members (about 15) sang the National Anthem accapella. When it was time to play, the girls really played well! But that should be expected since they have been playing together for the past 3-4 years!! The Lady Eagles took the match 25-14, 25-16, and 25-19. Way to close out your career at your home court girls!

Our last regular season match of the year is Tuesday at Laney. After that, we will wait for playoff bids, which we hope to have secured either the 2nd or 3rd bid from the Midsoutheastern Conference.

Thanks and more about Senior night
Last night’s senior events could not have happened without the help of several people who the entire team and myself would like to thank. Mrs. Sugerik, along with her chorus students for volunteering their time and talent to sing, then serving double duty as our own “Ashley Crazies”! Ashley has had some growing pains with positive cheering but last night’s group got it right and were the extra touch.

A special thank you to Mr. Loid Atkinson—he helped our “Dads” set up the Eagle! Coach Adams - thank you for getting it to the gym; Coach Duncan-thank you for the initial where-to-start information; Russell Corbett - thank you for helping set up the gym; thank you to all the teachers and staff that attended last night, AND from me to my team and all of my parents—THANK YOU! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

Statistics
Sarah Harriss: 6 kills, 2 blocks
Jessica McGill: 10 assists
Caitlin Blazek: 2 digs, 1 ace
Stephanie Willetts: 2 kills, 2 aces
Jordan Sutton: 4 assists, 2 kills and she got her jump serve in…1st time she has tried it all year!
Samantha Dowless: got to play front row, which has been her dream since freshmen year, and she had 3 kills, 3 digs and 2 aces
Kelsey Hopper: 9 kills, 3 blocks

Ashley 3 - White Oak 0
Overall: 7-8 Conference: 6-5

Scores
25-14 (A), 25-16 (A), 25-19 (A)


"Soulja Boy" - AHS Volleyball Anthem!

Senior Night Ceremonies Honor Players and their Families

Samantha #2

Caitlin #3

Jessica #4

Sarah #8

Jordan #13

Stephanie #15

October 8: South Brunswick @ Ashley (from Wilmington Star News)

South Brunswick 3 - Ashley 0
Overall: 6-8 Conference: 4-5

Scores
25-19 (SB), 25-19 (SB), 25-22 (SB)

Statistics
Jordan Sutton: 4 assists (and one crushed nose!)
Kelsey Hopper: 8 kills, 3 blocks
Jessica McGill: 5 assists, 2 blocks
Sarah Harriss: 4 kills, 2 blocks
Samantha Dowless: 5 digs

October 4: Hoggard @ Ashley (from Wilmington Star News)

Hoggard 3 - Ashley 0
Overall 6-7, Conference 4-5

Scores
25-19 (H), 25-13 (H), 25-21 (H)

Statistics
Sarah Harriss: 4 kills, 2 blocks
Jessica McGill: 4 assists, 2 kills
Kelsey Hopper: 3 kills, 3 blocks

Coach Humphrey's Take - Oct. 3, 2007 (from www.ashleyathletics.com)

Tuesday night the Lady Eagles faced West Brunswick for the second time this season. Game 1 was exciting and it appeared that we were on our way to handing an overconfident WB team a loss. Kelsey Hopper and Sarah Harriss were key factors in the match as each had 7 blocks, while Kelsey had 7 kills and Sarah had 5 kills. After such a close 1st game, it is mentally tough to come back for the next game, which is what happened this match. Scores for the match: 23-25 (WB), 18-25 (WB), 17-25 (WB). So I guess WB did exactly what they stated they were going to do during their pre-game cheer which went “We’re going bust their butts just like last time”. You gotta love good sportsmanship!

It took the JV’s two games to defeat WB. 25- 23 (A) and 25 –19 (A). Both games were well played by both teams but the Lady Eagles would not give in. They played as a team and worked on playing the ball instead of looking at each other as they have done in some of our past games. Lauren Henderson added some sneaky plays, which made for an interesting match. The future looks good for our young eagles.

We would like to thank Mrs. Sugerik and several members of her chorus class. Lauren Talton introduced/announced both teams and Kendra Mulchay sang the National Anthem. It is truly an honor to recognize our varsity players in this way and we look forward to the chorus’ class continued support!!! THANK YOU!!!

Please come out and support us tonight as we take on Hoggard. The more positive cheerleaders we have in the stands the better!!

October 2: West Brunswick @ Ashley (from Wilmington Star News)

W. Brunswick 3 - Ashley 0
Overall: 6-6, Conference: 4-4

Scores
25-23 (WB), 25-18 (WB), 25-17 (WB)

Statistics
Sarah Harriss: 7 blocks, 5 kills
Jessica McGill: 4 kills, 5 digs, 5 assists
Jordan Sutton: 6 assists, 3 aces

Coach Humphrey's Take - Week of September 25, 2007 (from www.ashleyathletics.com)

Last week was a busy week for the Lady Eagles as they were on the road both Tuesday and Thursday. We missed several players, due to illnesses and other issues. It always makes for an interesting match when players are out.

On Tuesday, the Lady Eagles took on Jacksonville. The JV got off to an easy start winning game one 25-13. It was so easy that they went to sleep in game two and lost 10 -25!!! The third and deciding game was a tough battle but the Eagles prevailed 25- 20.
On Thursday, the JV faced New Hanover and took care of business early. They won 25-19 and 25-22.

The Varsity went four games with Jacksonville on Tuesday. Winning 25-23, and 25-21 in the first two games, and then came game three, which has been a mental roadblock for us most of the season, we dropped to Jville 22-25. This set up a 29-27 victory for us in game 4 that started to look a lot like a battle for who DIDN’T want win. Both teams made careless mistakes maybe due to fatigue but the Eagles pushed when they needed to, were mentally tough during an injury play involving two of Jville’s players and walked away with a WIN.

We are happy to report that the Jville player was fine after the match—she and another teammate collided.

Still recovering from an ongoing illness, Sarah Harriss missed practice on Wednesday so the Lady Eagles came out against New Hanover with a different line up on Thursday. The different line up wasn’t as effective as I had hoped, so I tweaked a few things—one was putting Sarah H back in the front row—and things began to happen. Caitlin Blazek stepped up in the back row for Sarah, and Amanda White took over the front row for Jordan Sutton adding a few inches for blocks. Kelsey Hopper had an excellent night with 11 kills and 8 blocks. It was the traditional nail biter that Ashley vs. New Hanover has become in the past few years, going five games. Minutes into game five, we were down 0 – 6, and I became a little worried. As fate would have it, we pushed to tie 7-7 and from then on, it was all Ashley Eagles. Final scores: 22-25 (NH), 25-22 (A), 25- 18 (A), 26-28 (NH) & 15 – 10 (A).

We play at home Tuesday against West Brunswick and Thursday against Hoggard. We hope that you will come and show your support! We would like to thank everyone that contributed to our fundraiser this weekend. Many folks simply gave donations and didn’t even have their car wash.

WE THANK ALL OF YOU!

Hope to see you in the stands this week, Kelly