Crusaders split in RAAC debuts
Aug. 30—Grace Christian men's soccer had its first-ever match in the Raleigh Area Athletic Conference last Friday, falling 5-1 in a road match at Thales Academy of Rolesville.
The Crusaders (3-3 overall) had already faced the Knights (4-1) in the Greenfield tournament earlier this month, dropping that match 2-1. Grace went on beat John Paul II Catholic of Greenville 5-2 last Tuesday before ending the week with the conference opener.
Thales-Rolesville, which made the 3A state tournament last year and beat Grace during the 2021 regular season, is off to a strong start and came out hot on Friday, playing on its own pitch. The Knights held a 2-0 lead at intermission before the Crusaders managed a second-half goal by Brayden Waller off an assist from Kaleb Smith.
Senior keeper Griffin Matthews made eight saves for Grace.
The Crusaders have been challenging themselves with their early-season slate and will continue to do so this week. Grace travels to 3A Concord Academy (3-2) for a Tuesday match, then finally makes its 2022 home debut on Thursday in front of its upgraded facilities, against Lee County. The week ends on Friday with the third meeting of the season against Thales-Rolesville, but this time at home.
Thales of Rolesville is one of two schools in the RAAC bearing the Thales name, but are not connected except for having the same patron and educational philosophy. The Crusaders will play both Thales-Rolesville and Thales-Apex at least twice a season. Both of the Thales schools are 3A, so while Grace competes against them for a conference title, it does not need to beat either to advance in the state playoffs.
The Crusaders' other conference rivals this season are St. Thomas More Academy (Raleigh), Friendship Christian (Raleigh, not to be confused with public school Apex Friendship), and Neuse Christian (Raleigh). Grace and those three schools are all 2A.
Grace volleyball sweeps Thales-Rolesville
Thales-Rolesville may have an edge over Grace soccer right now, but they didn't impress the Crusaders too much in volleyball.
The Lady Crusader volleyball team also hit the road to Rolesville for its RAAC debut and had little trouble with them, winning 25-18, 25-23, 25-17. It was the second straight win for Grace, which had stormed back from two sets down to win at Chatham Central three days before.
Grace (2-1, 1-0 RAAC) rotated nine players in the victory and spread the love around, with Kaleigh Wilson and McKensie Boyte (6 kills each) and McKenzy McDougald (5 kills) leading the attack. Three other Lady Crusaders furnished dominant serving, led by Hayley Pugh with seven aces, and Emma Grace Dubuc and Kati Beth Hare with five each. The Lady Crusaders had 24 aces as a team with an 85% good serve percentage.
The defense was led by Dubuc with 12 digs, McKenzie Schilhab and Wilson with six each, and Hare with five. Wilson also had two blocks. Dubuc had 13 assists and Boyte nine. Schilhab, Dubuc, Alexandra Daly and Boyte all received eight or more serves and did a solid job. Freshman Haylee Shackleford had only five sets coming off the bench but turned two of them into kills.
The Lady Crusaders follow the same slate as the soccer team this week (except for not playing Lee County) and travel to Concord Academy on Tuesday and host Thales-Rolesville on Friday.
