Bears Roll in Beaufort: New Bern Sweeps East Carteret 3-0

BEAUFORT — The New Bern Bears volleyball team needed a statement on the road. On Thursday night they delivered one.

New Bern swept East Carteret 25-21, 25-8, 25-16 in a non-conference match, improving to 5-2 and sending a clear message that the Bears are finding their rhythm at the right time. The Bears’ attack clicked, the block rose, and the defense refused to give East Carteret any easy points.

Junior Megan McGuire earned Player of the Match honors with a complete night: 5 kills on a .500 hitting percentage and a team-high 3 blocks. Charlotte Smith led all players with 8 kills. Maci Bachelor was efficient with 2 kills, .667 hitting. Senior Louisa Reno added 5 kills of her own.

The engine of the offense was junior setter Mary Alice Evans, who finished with all 27 of New Bern’s assists plus 10 digs and 3 aces. Behind her, sophomore libero Allie Tuzo was everywhere, posting a match-high 21 digs. The Bears as a team piled up 66 digs and 13 aces. That combination—balanced hitting, a setter who finds every option, and a back row that simply will not let the ball drop—is what winning teams look like in August.

Volleyball seasons are long. Conference play in the Big Carolina will test them soon enough. Nights like this one—clean, focused, and finished quickly—are how you stack the kind of wins that matter when the lights get brighter.