Patton’s Edwards to continue volleyball career at Lees-McRae

Edwards spoke highly of the Lees-McRae campus, which is located about an hour away from Morganton in Banner Elk. During a recent campus tour, she was impressed with Bobcats head coach Lauren Havill and the volleyball program as a whole.

“She’s so nice and the team is amazing as well,” said Edwards, who added that Lees-McRae’s close proximity to Burke County was also “a big factor.”

“I knew that I didn’t want to go very far away from home,” she stated, “so that I can come home whenever I get a free chance to.”

Edwards plans to major in criminal justice at Lees-McRae, where she will continue a volleyball career that began about seven years ago. The Bobcats were 10-18 in 2024, including a 2-15 mark in NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas play.

Hayden Huffman has been Patton’s head coach for the past two seasons, and she called Edwards “a very determined player” who “has the drive to win and not just for herself but for her teammates as well.”

“Last year she was a very strong middle (blocker), and she plays for the same club that I coach at, Carolina Select (in Hickory),” said Huffman, who guided the Lady Panthers to an overall record of 16-8, a Mountain Foothills 7 1A/2A Conference mark of 6-6, and an appearance in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A state playoffs this fall. “Her club coach this past year developed her into this really strong right side, which made me excited because that was something last year that we didn’t really have, so having a versatile player like that that can hop from the middle to the right side was super helpful. We were a good defensive team, but she was able to slow down those balls and be a big offensive presence, so that way the ball didn’t stay on one side and it was able to move around.”

The only teams to finish ahead of Patton in the MF7 were Polk County and Brevard, who won the 2023 1A and 2A state titles, respectively. Polk also captured the 1A championship this fall, while Brevard reached the third round in the 2A bracket.

According to Edwards, “winning a set against both of the state champions from last year” – referring to hotly contested four-set home losses to both the Wolverines and the Blue Devils – were her best memories of playing for the Lady Panthers. She also explained that she enjoys the team aspect of volleyball, acknowledging that “you can’t do anything without your team.”

Nonetheless, Edwards was a huge part of Patton’s success. As a senior, she appeared in all 85 sets, recording 191 kills (second on team), 87 digs (fifth), 31 aces (fourth), and 25 blocks (fourth) to go with nine assists.

“I think she’s gonna do great (at Lees-McRae),” said Huffman. “When she was first talking to me about her college options and things like that, she was like, ‘I visited Lees-McRae and I really love it.’ They have the program that she wants to study and she’s very excited about that, so I think she’s going to do really well up there. Not just as an athlete, but as a student as well.”