Trio of Draughn grads now coaching prep volleyball in Burke County

Triniti Lambert, Megan Treadway, and Abi Norris played volleyball together at Draughn High School not too long ago, and now all three are back in Burke County as head coaches in the sport.

Lambert, whose maiden name was Triniti Bryant before she married fellow DHS alum Coy Lambert in 2021, is currently in her second year at the helm of her alma mater. Meanwhile, Treadway and Norris were hired at Freedom and NCSSM-Morganton, respectively, prior to the 2025 season.

“I actually didn’t know either of them was going to be coaching until a few weeks ago,” said Lambert, a 2018 Draughn graduate who was a junior teammate of seniors Treadway and Norris on the Lady Wildcats’ 2016 varsity volleyball team, which finished 18-6 overall, posted a 14-2 record in South Mountain 2A/3A Conference play, and advanced to the second round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A state playoffs. Lambert was also a freshman teammate of Treadway and Norris on Draughn’s unbeaten JV squad in 2014.

“Abi and I were really good friends in high school, and we’ve stayed good friends,” stated Lambert. “We played volleyball and basketball together all the way from my seventh-grade year (at Heritage Middle School) to my 11th-grade year, and she was one of my biggest supporters on and off the court. I think she’s gonna be an amazing coach over there, and the girls are gonna be really lucky to have her.

“… Megan and I played volleyball together from my seventh-grade year to my 11th-grade year, and we also had the chance to coach together at Heritage two years ago. She was the head coach at Heritage and I was the assistant coach, and she was a phenomenal coach. The girls at Freedom are very lucky to have her, and I think they’re already kind of seeing how much passion she has for volleyball.”

Lambert and Treadway recently coached against one another, with Draughn (2-3 entering this week’s Western Piedmont 3A/4A Conference matches against R-S Central and Patton) defeating Freedom (1-6) in four sets on Aug. 18 in Morganton. But it was far from an easy victory for the county’s winningest program since its inception in 2008, as every set was closely contested.

“They’ve got someone that really knows what they’re doing, and I think we saw that when we played them,” said Lambert of facing Treadway’s squad. “I told the girls before we played, ‘Don’t underestimate a good coach,’ and I think they did a little bit.

“I always want the best for them, but maybe not when they’re playing us. So I was hoping that she (Treadway) got what she wanted out of the day and that she could see places where she could continue to build the program. It was really fun.”

Lambert is “very excited for this year” after graduating only two seniors from her 2024 team, which won its second Western Highlands 1A/2A title in three seasons and reached the second round of the 1A playoffs.

“I don’t think I’ve ever coached a team or even been on a team with a group of girls that just care so much about the game of volleyball and about each other,” said Lambert, who also noted that her favorite memories of the 2016 DHS team were a pair of reverse sweeps (winning the final three sets after dropping the first two) against R-S Central.

“I just remember how much we wanted to persevere through things, push through things,” she explained. “Everybody took volleyball pretty seriously, we knew that we could be really good, and we went to work every single day.”

As for Freedom, it hasn’t posted double-digit wins since 2017 and has finished with five or less victories in all but one of the subsequent seasons. However, the school is known for its overall success in athletics, and Treadway hopes that soon carries over to the volleyball program.

“I’ve always wanted to get involved at Freedom, especially with their volleyball program,” said Treadway. “Freedom volleyball has good talent on the team and girls that want to improve and win games. Our main focus right now is learning the game, improving mentality, and setting the tone.

“Our goal is to tie into the tradition of excellence Freedom athletics is known for. Building a program doesn’t happen overnight, but hard work and dedication will get us on the right path. We have been very fortunate and are extremely thankful for the outstanding support we have received from administration, the athletic department, coaches, athletic trainers, teachers, families, and more. I am honored to be a part of Freedom High School.”

Like Lambert, Treadway enjoyed last week’s battle between Freedom and Draughn, admitting that “it was so special to reunite with one of my old teammates, but now in the role of coaching.”

“It was awesome going back to our middle school to coach at a school we both loved playing for,” added Treadway of guiding Heritage to 10 wins, a runner-up finish in the Foothills Athletic Conference, and an appearance in the championship game of the conference’s postseason tournament in 2023. “... I cherished my time coaching with Triniti, but it was super fun to coach against each other in a competitive way. She has a strong passion and desire to build athletes and a program that will take her far. Triniti is doing great things at Draughn with their program and I can’t wait to see what all she continues to accomplish.”

Given her shared history with Lambert and Norris, Treadway is delighted to be coaching in such close proximity to a pair of longtime friends.

“Going from teammates to now coaching at the high school level is really cool to see and special to be a part of,” said Treadway. “I love seeing players turn into coaches and share their love of volleyball with their teams. We all had a passion for the game that was evident on the court, and I’m excited to see us all giving back to the county we grew up in.

“Triniti, Abi, and I all played middle school, high school, and travel ball together, which contributed to years of building team chemistry. We always worked hard towards a common goal of getting better and winning. Our 2016 season was definitely my favorite year of volleyball and a memory I’ll cherish forever. We were led by amazing coaches who set a tone for excellence, and we earned the 2A conference championship in a competitive 2A/3A conference.”

Over at NCSSM-M, Norris now leads a program that is in just its third season of existence, and with two wins in their first three matches this fall, the Lady Dragons have already doubled their all-time win total.

“I’m so excited and proud,” said Norris. “The talent that’s within my juniors is unreal. All of them minus maybe two have club experience, so they understand the fast-paced gameplay. … I could go on for days talking about how impressed I am. Academics are always first and we just want to have fun, but I do hope for a winning season, and I think it’s possible. I’m really looking forward to next year too because seven juniors will be coming back as seniors, so it’s all really exciting stuff.”

Norris previously lived in Wilmington, Colorado, and Washington, D.C., but she’s excited to be back home in Morganton. She presently lives with her sister, Grace, on Lake James.

“I was so, so thrilled when they asked me to take the position,” said Norris of being offered the job at NCSSM-M. “… Just to be plugged back into the community with this awesome school that’s bringing so much business and whatnot to Morganton, I feel so honored to be here. I’m very excited to be back.”

Although Draughn and Freedom aren’t on NCSSM-M’s schedule this year, Norris would love to coach against Lambert and Treadway at some point. In addition, she is grateful for the time she has spent with them in the past, including during her senior season at DHS.

“I was tickled to death when I found out that all three of us were doing it at the same time,” said Norris. “I really hope that we’re able to get a scrimmage on the schedule against them because as of right now we don’t currently have anything scheduled, but it’s awesome. To have played so many years together, especially me and Megan being the same age, I know without a doubt that they’re teaching good things because we were taught good things. So it’s a huge win for Burke County volleyball for sure.

“There are just so many memories, too many to count. I think the biggest and best thing that I took away from our season (in 2016) was the team bonding. We really did just have a family and sisterhood aspect on the team, which I definitely plan to implement with my girls this season. But specific memories aside from that would be beating East Burke at home as a senior, and also Triniti created books and photo pamphlets for my senior night that I still have, so there’s a lot of special memories from that time.”

Chris Treadway, who is Megan’s father, was the Lady Wildcats’ head coach in 2016, and he stated that it “warms my heart to see former players and girls whose families I have known for a long time staying in the sport and excelling.”

“I’m very, very proud of them,” he added. “... They’re a special group of young ladies, all passionate about the sport, so to see them here almost 10 years later coaching in the county is a very special thing. … It is a unique situation to have three of them off the same team as head coaches at high schools within the same county, so that’s pretty cool.”