Not long ago, Bailey Mozeley, Lyrical Edwards, and Addy Fortenberry were three of the top high school volleyball players in Burke County.
These days, the trio is together on the women’s volleyball team at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, where they recently helped the Cobras complete the regular season at 19-7 overall and 8-2 in National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 10 Division III matches.
Mozeley is a freshman libero who previously played with Edwards — a sophomore right side hitter — at Draughn High School, while Fortenberry is a sophomore setter who graduated from East Burke High and started her collegiate career at Averett University in Danville, Va., before transferring to Caldwell Tech this year.
“I like playing here because there’s a lot of diversity in our team and we do a good job of keeping good energy,” said Mozeley, a two-time conference player of the year at Draughn who helped the Lady Wildcats reach the semifinals of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A state playoffs in 2025. “... This team has just got very good chemistry, we can work well with changes in the lineup or anything that’s different, so I think we just work well together, and we have fun doing it.”
Mozeley has a team-high 309 digs in 22 matches for the Cobras, who will be the No. 2 seed in their conference tournament when it begins on Oct. 30 at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst. Mozeley also has 66 kills, 49 aces, 37 assists, and six blocks.
“I’ve got such high hopes for next weekend,” Mozeley said of the conference tournament. “We have been practicing hard and we almost beat (No. 1 seed) Sandhills in five sets in one tri-match. … If we just go in with the energy we’ve been having for the last two weeks, I think we’ll succeed.”
Edwards was an NJCAA D-III First Team All-American during her freshman year at Caldwell Tech, and she has also found success this fall while appearing in all 26 matches. In addition to 210 kills, Edwards also has 79 digs, a team-high 32 blocks, 10 assists, and seven aces.
Edwards called playing for the Cobras — who were ranked ninth in the latest NJCAA D-III poll that was released this past Monday — “a privilege.”
“Nebraska is No. 1 in the (NCAA) Division I rankings, everyone loves them, but they have a motto saying that pressure is a privilege,” Edwards said. “And I very much stand by that. Being pressured and being in those good games, and especially those point-by-point games where you’re pressured to win, pressure is a privilege.”
Edwards has loved being Mozeley’s teammate again, referring to the younger player as “the workhorse” of their Draughn squads and pointing out that “she’s just a little ball of sunshine and she’s always super competitive, so it’s super enjoyable to be around that.”
Mozeley also enjoys being back on the same team as Edwards, and she has felt the support from the Draughn community as well.
“I went to a (Draughn) volleyball game last Saturday after our tri-match, and it was just so welcoming to see everybody,” Mozeley said. “... I have so much support from them, and being close is so nice because I can just basically drive 20 minutes down the road and go say hey to them and go to a game.”
Although Fortenberry spent her prep career at a rival school, she did previously play travel ball with Edwards, who called the former Lady Cavalier “probably my favorite setter that I’ve ever played with.”
Fortenberry only played in eight matches last year at Averett but has been a major part of Caldwell Tech’s success this season. In 25 contests, she has 368 assists, 141 digs, 48 aces, 17 kills, and four blocks.
“I really love the environment,” Fortenberry said of playing for the Cobras. “All the girls are so amazing, and we have like our own little family. The coaches are all so sweet and encouraging as well, and they’re there for you on and off the court no matter what’s going on.”
Fortenberry has particularly relished the opportunity to play alongside Edwards again and Mozeley for the first time.
“It’s a lot different (being teammates) because I went to East Burke and they went to Draughn,” Fortenberry said. “We’re rivals, so that was our big game. … But now playing with them, I’ve missed playing with Lyrical and we’ve always had such a good connection as a setter and hitter, and it was really great to rekindle that. And I always knew Bailey was a great player. I never got the chance to play with her, but now that I do, I’m like, ‘You’re so amazing.’ I love it.”
After playing in another state a year ago, Fortenberry also enjoys being so close to home.
“It’s really cool because I see people I went to high school with, I see people I’ve grown up around, and then I’m meeting people I’ve never met before … and I can show them around, show them where I’ve lived and stuff like that,” Fortenberry said. “Caldwell is just a really great place.”
Caldwell Tech head coach Brian Harris praised all three players, calling them “awesome young ladies” and “wonderful leaders.”
“They contribute in a lot of different areas for the team,” he said. “Not just on the court, but as far as the culture that we’ve tried to build here, so they’re fantastic.”
