Abingdon- Head Coach Cindy Edwards wasn’t sure what her Volleyball team had left in the tank as they loaded the bus and headed in the direction of Abingdon for a third time this season.
Carroll County (14-10) was idle for 11 days and still playing without floor General Laiken Burnett due to a broken hand but they took the floor with plenty of energy before falling 3-0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-10) to a talented Falcons squad.
The CCHS Volleyball season in 2025 – 2026 mirrored the football team from last year. The Gridiron Cavaliers finished last season by qualifying for the postseason before falling to the Top Seeded Falcons.
This season those Cavaliers used their season as a springboard to a 7-2 record with one game left to play. Can the eight Juniors on the VB team return and make similar magic ? First things first, let’s take a look at the finale for Laiken Burnett, Callie Harris, Brooke Webb and Corrie Delp played out.
Burnett, the All-Time leader in Assists was once again in street clothes and playing the role of both cheerleader and Assistant Coach.
In the opening set the two teams traded short runs 🏃♂️, the fact that Carroll County was able to avoid an avalanche by the significantly taller and deeper home team kept them in the set.
Abingdon led 12-11 when they strung together a 4-0 burst and pushed their lead out to 21-15. Ali Wright, one of the above mentioned Juniors sparked a 4-0 run with pair of Aces and the Lady Cavaliers eventually pulled even at 23-23.
Carroll County was serving for the lead and a shocking first set victory before making consecutive errors. The untimely misques allowed the Falcons to win the opener 25-23. Great efforts across the board and for the first time in six sets against Abingdon this year, Carroll County was in the hunt for a set.
CCHS opened its season by playing a scrimmage against Abingdon and faced them again in the regular season at the Patrick Henry Volleyball Jamboree. The only blemish on the 4-1 day back in September came at the hands of the Falcons.
Abingdon is a team that rides a wave of momentum more often than not. That was certainly the case in both the second and the third sets Monday night.
Wright scored a kill early in the second set to pull Carroll County to within 6-4 but this time the Lady Cavaliers could not avoid the big runs. Spurts of 4, 6 and then the final six turned the set into a 25-10 victory for the home standing Falcons.
Abingdon kept their foot on the pedal, attacking with precision throughout the third set. They put together a 5-0 run to make it 13-2 but even then Edwards received effort from all six spots on the court. Carroll County won 8-7 over the next 15 points to pull within 20-10 but Abingdon strung together the final five points to close out both the set and the match 25-10.
One year after having to say goodbye to the Petty family after a decade of their involvement with Lady Cavalier Volleyball, Edwards must now do the same with the Harris family. The two families combined to have five daughters and four active parents, including two who coached. Callie Harris crossed the 1,000 Digs barrier earlier this season, joining her Big Sister, Adrienne Harris McGuire in the two member club.
Brooke Webb continued to grow into her role across her entire stay in the program and could possibly continue her playing days after leaving The Hill.
The fourth and final Senior, Corrie Delp will stay busy until Track and Field season. This Spring, Delp will look to earn a fourth consecutive trip to the State Meet in Lynchburg.
End of Story for Mr David Broyles…
Going to add a few more pics for my site and also to personally say Thank You to the four families who have represented our program so well over the past four seasons.
To the eight Juniors, 1 Sophomore ( Raylee Goins) and 1 Freshman ( Clara DeHaven)- travel ball is right around the corner !
Thank You to Kim Weddle, Kayla Nester, Shelia Harris, Nikki Heflin, Brittany Kinney and Kelly Holderfield for all that you gave to Cindy Edwards this season !
Thank You to Stacy Whitaker 🙏 and our Athletic Director, Kevin DeHaven.
Finally, Thank You 🙏 Coach Edwards !
