Asheboro High School volleyball team look strong this season

ASHEBORO —  Steady progression.

That’s what the Asheboro High School varsity volleyball program has shown over the past couple of seasons under Kelly Smith. And the new 2025 high school season could very well see that progression continue.

The Blue Comets, who opened the new campaign Tuesday against Jordan-Matthews, have all the ingredients to attack the new Triad Area Athletic Conference (TAAC).

Smith took over a program that was 7-15 overall the year before, including a 5-6 league record without a playoff appearance.

In Smith’s first year, the Blue Comets were 14-11, including an 8-2 league mark and a first-round playoff appearance. In 2024, Smith’s second year, AHS improved to 19-7 overall, 8-2 in conference play and a first-round playoff win over Pisgah.

“One of the biggest things when we got Coach Smith was she put a lot of time and effort into the  team,” said senior Lia George, who teams with Emma Kate Forester as one of the top returning offensive duos in the state. “She likes to be scrappy. We have a lot of returning starters this year and we have a lot of options with a lot of new people.”

All the pieces are there to see a strong run to this season. The Blue Comets return a wealth of talent, including George, Forester, Emma Little and Eva Vuncannon. Emma Ingold and Ady Scherer are two more important pieces to the puzzle. The Blue Comets should also benefit from some transfers, including Kaley Brown, a defensive specialist from Providence Grove.

“I’m really excited,” Forester said. “We had a really good team last year and we got better this year. Coach Smith is such a big part of the success in building a better culture and program. 

“We all just want to succeed and have a great season. We’re in a new conference so we want to win the conference and focus on our record.”

Asheboro is one of four 6-A schools in the split 5-A/6-A TAAC. Eastern Guilford, Northern Guilford and Southeast Guilford are also in the 6-A classification with Northeast Guilford and Southern Guilford the two 5-A programs.

The five non-Asheboro schools were in the Mid-State or Metro-4A conferences.

In the Mid-State, EG finished 16-7 and in second, NEG finished 8-15 and fourth and SG placed fifth in that league with a 7-15 overall record.

NG was second in the Metro at 21-6 overall and SEG was fifth with a record of 12-13.

The Blue Comet returners have plenty of accolades, including being among the top returning players in all of 6-A programs across the state:

■ Forester is 10th with 266 kills recorded last year, while George is 14th with 240.

■ Forester leads all returning 6-A players with 178 blocks, while Scherer is second with 160.

■ Vuncannon is 12th in assists with 386.

■ Little leads all 6-A returnees with 438 digs; George is 13th with 313.

■ Vuncannon is 16th in the ace category with 53.

“I’m actually really excited,” George said of the new season. “We are working hard in the weight room and in the gym every day. We really want to start strong in non conference games. Win conference and then get a home playoff game and make it farther than we did last year. We all know we are going to be pretty good this year.”