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HIGH POINT — When Michelle Wilkerson took over the High Point Christian volleyball program four years ago, she had one condition: It had to be a family affair.

Wilkerson’s younger sister, Sarah Davis, is one of the all-time leading setters in Greensboro College history — she led the Pride in assists from 2003-05 — and though they both played at Bartlett Yancey High School, they were just far enough apart in age that they never had a chance to be on the same team.

Davis wanted to stay involved with volleyball after college, but her job teaching autistic children at Sternberger Elementary School in Greensboro meant she’d never have time to handle a head coach’s duties.

Then her big sister, just as she had as a setter, delivered a perfect assist. With the two of them guiding a ship overflowing with talent, the Cougars have become a perennial power and appear destined to at least replicate last year’s trip to the state semifinals.

“I wouldn’t have probably agreed to coach if I didn’t have her,” Wilkerson said. “I knew we would need each other.”

“We’re best friends anyway,” Davis said, “so that’s just another part of life that we have together.”

The Cougars (27-3) have scarcely been threatened in holding the top ranking in the NCISAA 2-A poll all season. Credit the return of four starters and an offense that keeps the action moving quickly to capitalize on the team’s experience. That’s put a heavy burden on the shoulders of senior setter Megan Fary.

“The expectations are so high for her, and she’s been more than up to the challenge,” Wilkerson said. “She makes great decisions like a quarterback on our team. She’s really proven herself, especially this year, to get the ball to the right spots at the right time.”

Those spots are usually around senior Meredith Morris and junior Bethany Gesell, the Cougars’ top two hitters. Gesell, the daughter of HPC athletics director Corey Gesell, was the unanimous Triad Athletic Conference’s player of the year last season after posting a .444 hitting percentage.

“The first day college coaches could contact junior recruits, she had 15 or 16 e-mails at 12:01 a.m.,” Wilkerson said.

If you’re looking for a friendly wager bordering on a lock, tonight’s your night as the Cougars begin TAC tournament play. It’s been two years since they lost a set in conference play, let alone a match.

“We haven’t even been pushed,” Wilkerson said.

But the Cougars have stayed motivated, thanks to quarterfinal exits in 2006 and 2007 and a five-set loss to Asheville Christian in last year’s semifinal round of the state tournament. They took a straight-sets loss to 4-A powerhouse Northwest Guilford on the chin last week, a final reminder of what will be needed to see their dream season through.

“I don’t want to say it’s now or never for them, but they realize that this has to be the year,” Wilkerson said. “There’s definitely no pressing. They’re just really hungry. They want to make sure there’s no regrets when they leave.

“If we play to our potential, we’re a pretty unstoppable team.”

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com