Ed Phillipps

Staff Reporter

DOBSON — When it came time to pick a charity for a community-involvement event, the choice was easy for Surry Central volleyball coach Leah McKinney.

Her mother, Brenda McKinney, suffered from breast cancer, but has been cancer-free for four years. Unfortunately, both of Leah McKinney’s grandmothers succumbed to breast cancer. When it came down to choosing a charity, McKinney and the Golden Eagles went with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for their “Volley for the Cure” fundraiser.

In the spring, the Golden Eagles baseball team hosted a similar event before a game against Mount Airy. The Central volleyball team also chose to hold its event against Mount Airy. McKinney said hosting a nearby team helps the event to draw more.

The event raised $1,500, half of which will be donated to the Komen Foundation. A marked increase in attendance signaled signs of a successful endeavor.

“There were a lot more people at our game tonight,” McKinney said, comparing last night to an average game. “We really felt like we had the stands packed.”

Mount Airy coach Sarah Knott’s mom and sister are cancer survivors. Her father did not survive a bout with the illness. Knott, whose family members suffered from different types of cancers, said if more events are planned, she would like to see a more universal celebration of survivors.

Knott said her players were pumped to be a part of the awareness program.

“My girls got excited to be a part of it,” she said. “They went out and bought the pink ribbons for their hair.”

The match itself also sparked excitement. Surry Central (3-5, 3-3 Northwest 1A/2A) won the first two games, but the Granite Bears (4-3, 3-2) fought back to force a tiebreaker, which the Golden Eagles won to secure a 3-2 victory.

The home team got 14 kills from Whitney Joyner. Lauren Key (17) and Erin Howlett (16) led the team in assists. Alysha Shelton registered 26 digs.

Mount Airy’s Skyler Davis was perfect from the service line, going 23-for-23 with a pair of aces. Jenna Clement had five kills. Marydith Beasley didn’t have big numbers, but she impressed her coach.

“Marydith Beasley played a heck of a ball game,” Knott said. “She was hustling and got several balls tonight. She was going after it. You could tell she was wanting to win.”

Surry Central hosts Bishop McGuinness Thursday and Mount Airy will host Elkin at the Mount Airy Middle School this evening because the Granite Bears’ gym is going through a renovation.

Contact Ed Phillipps at ephillipps@mtairynews.com or 719-1921.

Greyhounds slam Sauras

North Surry easily handled visiting South Stokes Tuesday, taking the Northwest 1A/2A meeting 3-0.

The Greyhounds set the tone in game one, pounding South 25-5, before taking the final two games 25-11 and 25-14 respectively.

North Surry coach Shane Slate said the Greyhounds’ offense was clicking on all cylinders.

“We were really offensively minded tonight and we served extremely well,” he said. “Our efficient offense kept us from playing a lot of defense and helped us stay aggressive at the net.”

Slate wasn’t kidding. North Surry successfully completed 72 of 76 serves with eight aces. Summer Robertson led the way finishing 26-of-26 from the service line with two aces.

Courtney Campbell led the way at the net with eight kills, followed by Sara Parker (7) Summer Robertson (5) Morgan Bunker (5) and Kara Hodges (5)

Hodges also added 27 assists with just one error.

With the win, North Surry is now 8-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play. They will host East Surry Thursday.