A month into the year, that potential is starting to be reached. It was evident when the Golden Hawks took on a smaller Fuquay-Varina team Thursday night in a Tri-Nine Conference showdown.

The Bengals had a hard time handling the sophomore Kaelyn Byson and junior foreign-exchange student Alessica Buttol, who combined for eight kills and 10 blocks in Holly Springs' 25-20, 25-18, 26-24 sweep.

"I was very impressed with our blocking. Blocking is usually our weaker point," Ivanoff said. "But today, our front row had it together and they weren't letting things drop, so it was nice to see them perform."

Those blocks limited the number of kills Fuquay was able to execute, but the Bengals (7-3, 4-3 Tri-Nine) remained competitive in every game. The Bengals were a point away from winning the third set, but four Fuquay errors contributed to five straight points to Holly Springs to close out the match.

"We have a lot of youth on our team and we've still got to get through the transition of playing in big matches like that," said first-year Fuquay coach Jeff Pagel. "Rather than playing to win, we've been playing not to lose."

Holly Springs (4-3, 4-2) is just a game over .500 on the season, but the Golden Hawks have only lost to teams ranked fifth or higher in the current News & Observer area volleyball rankings.

Ivanoff's team starts two freshmen in Jaclyn Brewington (four aces, seven kills) and Mackenzie Reaves (three aces, four kills), but also relies on two first-time varsity players in the front row. The maturation process has been enhanced by facing a difficult early schedule.

"They're starting to grow," Ivanoff said. "It's really good to see them step up with their ability and know that they are able to get those balls. And they're moving quicker now, and it's good for our middles to have that quickness."

Byson, who had three kills and five blocks, said she was happy in the improvement from the team's previous game -- a 3-0 loss to No. 3 Apex.

"We did a lot better today," Byson said. "We had a little pep talk and everything went well. I did better on blocking - a lot better."

Buttol, who is from Italy and attending Holly Springs for this year, added two aces to her stellar play at the net.

"We're a good team and I think we did really well tonight," Buttol said. "We practiced a lot of blocks during the week and did well."

The Golden Hawks are a half-game ahead of Fuquay in the Tri-Nine standings with little more than half of the conference schedule still to go. Both are in the top five of the league, which is where a team must finish to get an automatic state playoff bid.

Pagel said it's a good spot for his team to be in. The Bengals have just three seniors -- Jessi Johnson, Abby Moody and Danielle Plante. The trio combined for 18 kills on Thursday, with Johnson's eight leading the team.

"I thought it was going to take a couple of years to be where we're at right now," Pagel said. "My senior leadership is doing awesome and my junior and sophomore are stepping up. We're just tired of being eighth and ninth in the Tri-Nine every year, and we're sitting pretty good right now."

Holly Springs will play Lee County and Middle Creek next week, while Fuquay will play Apex and non-conference foe West Johnston.