Gaston College shows improvement in its Region 10 home opener

Gaston College's beach volleyball opened Region 10 play on Thursday afternoon with a full 10-player roster and though the Rhinos lost both contests to Wake Tech, they had their most successful match of the season.

Gaston College lost 5-0 in the opener that was a designated Region 10 contest before losing 4-1 in a non-league matchup.

In both contests, Rhinos' players won sets.

Addison Abernathy and Angelina Diaz won their opening set in the No. 2 pairing before suffering a 2-1 defeat.

In the second contest, Madison Herms and Ashley York won 2-1 in the No. 4 pairing while the Addie Key-Valeria Rodriguez No. 1 pairing, Angelina Diaz-Addison Abernathy No. 2 pairing and the Brianna Kent-Raelyn Miller-Lawrence No. 3 pairing suffered 2-1 defeats.

"Our team has had a lot of focus over the last two weeks and it showed Thursday," Gaston College coach Annelle Grealis said. "They looked like a completely different team from February 28th home tournament.
"We still have work to do but we're motivated and excited for each day to get better."

The Rhinos return to action on Monday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Region 10 rival Richard Bland.

"These girls just keep getting better with every practice and it's exhilarating to watch," Grealis said. "They played very competitive and the atmosphere of the courts was amazing."