GRANITE QUARRY - In a recent softball game at Jay M. Robinson, East Rowan senior Jordan Dry hit a ball as far as she'd ever hit one, further than most players ever dreamed of hitting one.
It easily cleared the fence. Then it cleared the fence beyond the fence. Jaws dropped. Dry trotted around the bases like it was no big deal.
"It was a pretty good home run," Dry said. "Facing the really fast pitchers, they supply all the power for you and you just have to make contact. On that one, I needed to use my legs to provide the power. I've had a few like that this year."
Dry is a super softball player, one of the best 10, without a doubt, in a county stuffed with softball stars. She can do it all on the diamond. She is as likely to make an unbelievable catch in the outfield as she is to sock the ball over a fence. In Wednesday's seventh-inning rally by East to beat a 16-2 South Stanly team, Dry's clutch double came in the middle of the comeback. She knocked in the tying run. Then she scored the walk-off on a hit by Kimberly Troublefield.
When East won at West Rowan this season, the Mustangs' biggest South Piedmont Conference victory so far, Dry walloped a game-changing, game-tying homer.
But now for the really interesting stuff about Dry. Softball is her second sport and has been for a while. Volleyball is her thing, A 5-foot-6 libero, she led the 5A classification in digs last fall with 486. She made a college decision just recently and has signed with the Catawba Indians.
Former East Rowan standout Riley Hill is Catawba's standout libero. Hill will be a senior next fall. It's possible that Dry will back Hill up and learn the ropes from her as a freshman, and then take over. That scenario already has played out at East.
"When I was a freshman at East, Riley was a star senior, so I played for the jayvee team and I learned a lot about libero by watching her," Dry said.
Hill is only 5 feet tall but still has been an impactful player for Catawba, a team leader in digs and enthusiasm. Dry could be a similar, but taller, addition for the Indians.
"Jordan is pure athlete, quick and smart and blessed with a really nice vertical jump," East coach Sandy Lytton said. "Jordan loved being our libero, and she was really good at it, but at the high school level, she could have played almost any position. She could have set. She could've been a strong outside hitter."
Dry got started in softball early, competed on high-powered travel teams as well as school teams and devoted springs, summers and falls to the diamond. Family vacations were planned around her softball schedule.
"I didn't play in my first volleyball match until I was in the eighth grade," Dry said. "I enjoyed it, but I had no idea that volleyball was going to change my life."
Dry continued to smash softballs, but volleyball started to catch up as far as her time commitment by her sophomore year at East. The more she played volleyball, the more she learned, the better she got, and the more she liked it. When she became a full-time libero, she embraced everything that went with putting on that odd-colored jersey and performing at that unique defensive position.
"Softball is a team sport, and I have always loved playing with my friends and for my school, but a lot of softball is individual, the batter against the pitcher," Dry explained. "There was just something that felt very different about playing volleyball. I loved that the game moved fast, and you were totally connected with your teammates on every play. Dig, pass, set, kill. It's teamwork. Everything is connected."
Dry didn't make a decision about which road she wanted to travel in college until her junior year was almost over. After a terrific junior softball season for East, another year of summer softball was on the horizon, but Dry suddenly realized she would rather be playing volleyball. There was less mental stress for her playing volleyball.
"There was a time when I tossed and turned at night and kept asking myself which sport did I love more," Dry said. "I needed to choose one or the other. Late in my junior year it became clear in my mind that volleyball is what I loved doing the most. My name was out there with some of the college coaches for softball, but I really wasn't very well known for volleyball. I needed to go to camps."
The camps she attended were encouraging. She went to the Montreat camp. They offered her right away. The same thing happened at Lees-McRae. Coaches saw immediately she could play. They would find a scholarship for her.
But Dry didn't really want to go to school in the mountains. She wanted to stay close. She's got a steady boyfriend at East and she's one of those teens who would rather hang out with her parents than get away from them.
Catawba seemed like the ideal fit. That was her first choice. She knew how successful Hill had been there and you can't get closer to home than Catawba.
She went to a Catawba camp.
"I told them I really wanted to play for them and they liked me," Dry said."but they weren't looking for a libero."
Dry had her third super season for East volleyball as a senior in the fall of 2025. She had 346 digs as a sophomore, 463 as a junior and 486 as a senior. She reached 1,000 career digs in a match last September against Northwest Cabarrus. She also was the key person on serve-receive for the Mustangs. She had nearly 2,000 in her three varsity seasons. She confidently took everything she could reach.
"It's a lot of fun being the libero," Dry said."You have to be in charge of the back row."
Dry's high school volleyball career ended with a 19-12 season and her college destination still undetermined. Months passed. Dry stayed busy and tried hard not to worry. She played club volleyball and she pounded more softballs and made more diving catches for the Mustangs.
Things take twists and turns in the recruiting game. Catawba volleyball may have lost a recruit it thought it was getting, or a transfer, who said she was coming, may have had a change of heart. Whatever happened, it was good news for Dry. The Indians did need a libero, after all. They took a second look at Dry.
She played exceptionally in a workout/tryout, met the team and coaches and felt right at home. Catawba offered, and Dry was pleased to accept and to sign. So far, that's been one of the best days of her life.
"Catawba signed a girl who has given her heart to volleyball," Lytton said. "Jordan is a fantastic softball player, but volleyball—that's where her heart is. She fell hard for volleyball."
Carson graduate Kary Hales was able to manage simultaneous softball and volleyball careers for Catawba just recently. Hales was one of the best softball hitters the Indians have ever had, and she also contributed significantly as a volleyball defensive specialist while shining in the classroom.
"It's difficult to do both sports because there are off-season workouts in college in one sport while the other one is being played," Lytton said."It's challenging but Kary Hales showed it can be done.If Jordan plays college softball at some point down the road,I won't be completely shocked.But I also know that she is all-in for Catawba volleyball.We've had a great relationship with Catawba volleyball for years through Riley Hill.We've attended Catawba matches as team,and we look forward to continuing our support for years to come with Jordan."
Academically,Dry is planning major in criminal justice/law field.Her mother,Cynthia Dry,is district court judge.