Hayesville Earns Win Over Rival Murphy

By Travis Dockery

Sportswriter

HAYESVILLE, N.C. — The Hayesville Lady Yellow Jackets closed their regular season with a hard-fought 3-2 road win over the Murphy Lady Bulldogs on Thursday, Oct. 8, in a Smoky Mountain Conference matchup.

Hayesville won the five-set battle by scores of 17-25, 29-27, 26-24, 18-25, 16-14. The victory improved the Lady Yellow Jackets to 15-10 overall and 7-5 in conference play, securing fourth place in the Smoky Mountain Conference. Murphy dropped to 16-6.

It was the final regular-season game for both teams. With no varsity Smoky Mountain Conference tournament this year, the conference race concluded with Cherokee claiming its third straight title. At press time, the Lady Yellow Jackets were awaiting postseason seeding and scheduling from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

The match featured several tight sets after Murphy took the opener. Hayesville responded with a long second set and a narrow third-set win before the teams split the final two sets, with the visitors closing it out in the fifth.

The result capped a late stretch that included a 3-0 win over Andrews earlier in the week and helped the Lady Yellow Jackets finish the regular season on a positive note as they prepare for the NCHSAA playoffs.