The Washington volleyball will be returning to the second round of the 2-A state playoffs for the second-consecutive season after a shutout of Goldsboro in Round 1 on Saturday.

The Cougars finished fourth in the Eastern Carolina Conference with a 12-8 record, but had dropped their last two matches entering the matchup.

The opposing back line was unable to defend Washington middle hitter Adriana Tyson, who took care of business with a match-high 18 kills, supported by the consistent setting of sophomore Sarah Lynch.

“Every game Sarah Lynch and Adriana Tyson go out and work great together,” said head coach Kelly Slade. “Sarah is putting them up and Adriana is putting them down. As the season progresses and the more games we play, the better we get and the better they get as a pair.”

Lynch picked up five of her 16 helpers in the first game, as the Pam Pack rebounded from a slow first couple of points with a huge finish. A pair of aces from Briley Waters, four kills from Tyson and two from Abby Walker propelled Washington to a 25-11 win in Game 1.

Goldsboro fought back in the second game, however, as senior middle hitter Alexus Davis quickly began to catch fire following a tough start.

“As far as their good middle hitter (Davis), we made sure we were double blocking and had someone up at the net the whole time to handle her,” Slade said.

After Washington jumped out to an 8-2 lead, a pair of aces from sophomore Courtney Sutton and a handful of kills from Davis gave the Cougars a one-point lead midway through the game. But it was Tyson that came through for the Pam Pack, closing the game out with three straight kills en route to a 25-18 win.

Despite a valiant effort from the opposition in Game 2, the final game seemed to mirror the first. A 13-3 run by Washington, prompted by multiple kills from Walker and Tyson, put the match out of reach for Goldsboro.

“We had a great defensive game — defense wins championships,” Slade said. “We work hard on defense and it shows here in our games. We have a lot of great passing and it was really on today. My girls got some balls in some spots that I wasn’t sure they were going to get to, but they did and made perfect passes.”

The win marks the second playoff victory in the tenure of coach Slade and improves Washington’s overall record to 17-7.

The Pam Pack advance to Round 2 of the playoffs set for Tuesday in Washington.