Emma Hayes of Mocksville is one-half of the NC Junior Beach Volleyball State Championship Team.

Emma and her partner, Emma Norris of Statesville, won the 2017 title on July 15 in Apex.

Team “DilEmma” participated in 14 Carolina Region Junior Beach tournaments this year and was also named the 2017 North Carolina 12 and under Team of the Year.

Beach Volleyball is two-player team sport played on sand or grass.Beach volleyball has been an Olympic sport since 1996 and is experiencing rapid growth as a NCAA and high school sport.

The Carolina Region Junior Beach Tour is a series of outdoor volleyball tournaments across the state that concludes with the state championship. Only top finishers of the series tournaments qualified for the championship. This year’s championship field had 15 qualifying teams from across the state participating in the 12-year-old division.

Team Dilemma won seven consecutive matches to win the state title. Their season continues to the national championship. The USAV Junior National Beach Championship was July 20-22 at Siesta Key, Fla. They participated for the national title against more than 50 top 12U teams from across the United States. They finished fourth.

Emma Hayes is a rising seventh grader and is looking forward to playing volleyball for Ellis Middle School this fall. She enjoys playing beach volleyball at Oak Valley Golf Club and hopes that beach volleyball expands to Davie County Schools soon.

Emma Norris is a rising seventh grader at Northview IB Middle School in Statesville.

Both Emmas play indoor travel volleyball for I.C. Stars in Statesville.