HS Volleyball Stop: Garinger smashes 60-game losing streak, planning for more

To start the volleyball season, Garinger High School did something pretty memorable: the Wildcats ended a three-season losing streak.

Garinger beat Harding to start the season, ending a 60-game losing streak. The last Garinger volleyball victory came in September 2018. The Wildcats went winless in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons. Under coach David Garrett, Garinger was a soccer power in the middle of the last decade, compiling a 19-5-1 record in 2015.

Garrett left the school for several seasons, returned in the COVID-abbreviated winter 2020 campaign, and then coached the Wildcats to a 13-7-2 record and a 4A state playoff berth last fall. In four seasons prior to last year, Garinger’s combined record was 14-42-2.

New coach Rebekah Boyle thinks the Wildcats are on the path to returning to the type of team that Garrett used to have.

“I’m really stoked on what we have this year,” Boyle said. “We’ve got a lot of girls returning, we have quite a few seniors this year, some girls that have been in the program since their freshman year and have been working hard. So, I finally feel like we are getting to a point where it is paying dividends.”

Despite dropping the next few matches and sitting at 1-5 on the season, Boyle feels like the win to begin the season gives her team confidence that even if they don’t win the match, they can at least compete, score several points, and win games within their matches.

“I think (the win) was huge for the girls,” Boyle said. “The girls were really, really excited about it. I think just knowing that was a possibility and that we are capable of that is huge because these past couple of years haven’t really shown them that.”

The losing streak snapped for the Wildcats dates back to September of 2018 when they last defeated Rocky River. Under coach Boyle’s leadership, the program looks to continue to grow and continually get better each week.

Now for the rankings. The first few weeks of the season has seen a few teams that thrived last year tumble, and a few teams that didn’t make the preseason poll thrive and jump onto the list.

Early season player of the year?

Watauga’s Caroline Farthing won The Observer’s poll for the volleyball player of the year in the early season. The newspaper combed through MaxPreps stats for the area leaders in each category.

Farthing has helped Watauga to a 6-1 start. She has 141 kills this season, which ranks ninth statewide.

Matches to watch

South Mecklenburg at No. 3 Ardrey Kell Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.: No. 3 in The Sweet 16, Ardrey Kell has won six straight matches since being swept by Marvin Ridge last month. South Meck would love to upset its conference rival from just a few miles away.

No. 4 Foard at No. 2 Marvin Ridge Saturday, 11:30 a.m.: two of the state’s top teams -- and teams ranked in The Observer Sweet 16 poll top five -- match up.

Mallard Creek at North Mecklenburg, Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.: the Queen City 3A/4A conference rivals are both 5-2 overall, but Mallard Creek is tied with Hough at 2-0 in league play. North Meck, at 0-1, needs to win to keep pace.

Observer Sweet 16 rankings

Dropped Out: Weddington (4A, 1-4), Charlotte Christian (IND, 3-4), South Iredell (4A, 3-4), Gaston Day (IND, 6-10). On the bubble: Myers Park (4A, 4-4); Sun Valley (4A, 4-0); Charlotte Catholic (4A, 6-1); Carson (3A, 7-2); Lake Norman (4A, 5-2); Mountain Island Charter (1A, 6-0)

This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "HS Volleyball Stop: Garinger smashes 60-game losing streak, planning for more."