Myers Park is moving on to a Saturday match with the state's highest-ranked public school girls volleyball team, but the Mustangs had to work hard for their second-round victory Thursday night.
The eighth-seeded Mustangs (20-7) beat ninth seed Butler (19-7) in four sets, but it took 30 or more points to win two of the sets.
Myers Park now travels to 4A West No. 1 seed Marvin Ridge (31-3) in a third-round match Saturday. The Mavericks are ranked by Maxpreps at No. 2 in North Carolina, behind only private school power Charlotte Country Day.
Set scores Thursday night at Myers Park were 25-20, 30-28, 31-33 and 25-20.
Myers Park dominated much of the first set, bolting to leads of 16-6 and 21-10. But the Bulldogs battled back to within 24-20 before Mustangs senior setter Sloan Childress won it with a shot to the back corner.
Butler jumped to a 9-5 lead in the second set, but Myers Park went on a 5-0 run and tied it 10-all. From there, it was a back-and-forth battle that wasn't settled until the Mustangs took a 29-28 lead on a Lia Skufca service ace and then won it when Butler returned another Skufca serve into the net.
The Bulldogs battled from behind in the third set. Down 18-9, they went on an 11-1 run and took a 20-19 lead when Myers Park couldn't return Kinsley Singleton's shot to the back line. Then the Mustangs went on a 3-0 run for a 22-20 lead, but Butler battled back and kept the match going.
The Bulldogs finally won it 33-31 on a kill by McKenzie Taylor.
The fourth set belonged to Myers Park. The Mustangs led 10-8 but went on a 7-0 run and held on. As was the case throughout the night, Butler battled back and closed to within 23-19 and 24-20. But Myers Park won it on Amelia Collins' shot into the back of the Butler zone.
Myers Park and Marvin Ridge met more than two months ago in a season-opening match, with Marvin Ridge winning 3-0.
Cox Mill 3, West Forsyth 1: Second-seeded Cox Mill (21-3) had a tough time with West Forsyth, as no set was decided by more than five points. The Chargers won the first set 25-23, but West Forsyth (27-9) recovered for a 25-22 victory. Cox Mill closed it out by winning 25-20 and 26-24.
Grimsley 3, Weddington 1: The fourth-seeded Whirlies (25-5) had to struggle against No. 13 Weddington (16-10), winning in four sets. Grimsley took the first set 25-16 and bolted to an 18-4 lead in the second set before winning 25-14. Weddington came back strong in the third set, building a 16-5 lead and winning 25-14. But the Whirlies recovered and took the fourth set 25-14.
Lake Norman 3, Watauga 0: Lake Norman swept sets by scores of 25-21, 25-23 and 25-15, advancing to a third-round match with fellow Greater Metro 4 4A member Cox Mill. The 10th-seeded Wildcats (19-3) split their two regular-season matches with second seed Cox Mill.
Marvin Ridge 3, Southwest Guilford 0: The top-seeded Mavericks (31-3) had little trouble with Southwest Guilford (16-9), winning by scores of 25-10, 25-9 and 25-13.
Northern Guilford 3, Hough 2: Visiting Northern Guilford (20-5), the 12th seed, upset the fifth-seeded Huskies (23-7), taking a closely contested match. Northern Guilford will face Grimsley in the third round. Grimsley swept two conference matches with Northern Guilford, but the Nighthawks beat Grimsley last week in the conference tournament.
CLASS 3A
West Rowan 3, East Lincoln 2: In a battle of teams that scored first-round upset victories, West Rowan (11-11) battled from behind and topped the Mustangs (13-14). West Rowan took the opening set 26-24, but East Lincoln came back with 25-15 and 25-23 victories. The Mustangs were leading late in the fourth set and on the verge of victory, but West Rowan rallied for a 25-23 decision. The Falcons then edged East Lincoln 15-12 in the fifth set.