ROCKINGHAM — Despite remaining competitive Tuesday, the Richmond Senior High School volleyball team wasn’t able to get the job done.
In a home match with Scotland High School to close out the first round of regular-season Sandhills Athletic Conference play, the Lady Raiders suffered a 3-0 loss.
Richmond held a lead at different times in each set, but final scores were 18-25, 15-25 and 23-25.
The loss marked the sixth straight match the Lady Raiders weren’t able to get into the win column.
“It’s like the same song every night,” head coach Ashleigh Larsen said. “It’s like we can’t overcome that little hump to close out sets. We work on everything in practice that we need to.
“I thought our defense picked up some things against one or two of Scotland’s big hitters,” she continued. “It’s nothing we haven’t seen before. We did a good job of controlling the match at times.”
Kills by senior Sharonda Henderson and sophomore Riley McDonald gave Richmond a 4-2 lead in the first set. But runs of 6-0 and 6-1 by Scotland (10-2, 4-2 SAC) made it a 15-7 deficit and resulted in a Richmond timeout.
Sophomore Madisen Jackson drilled a shot to the floor, which was followed by a pair of aces from junior J’Nasia Neal to help close the gap. Senior Ava Edmondson blocked a ball at the net to pull within five points, 18-13.
Trading points for the remainder of the first set, Scotland outscored Richmond 7-5. Sophomore Kalynn McCormick had an ace for Richmond and Jackson added another kill from the middle of the net.
Points from McDonald, sophomore Kenley Smith and Neal helped Richmond remain within two points early in the second stanza. However, the Lady Scots went on a 6-0 run to open it up.
Down 18-8, Larsen called a timeout. Henderson notched a kill out of the break and McDonald scored three points at the net. Although Richmond split the next 14 volleys with Scotland, the visitors took a two-set advantage.
The third set featured 10 ties as the Lady Raiders tried to battle back into contention. Aces from Smith, Edmondson and sophomore Kaylan Parsons contributed to an 8-6 lead.
Junior Ka’mora Watkins broke a 10-10 tie with a kill from the outside and a McDonald block made it even at 13 points. A 3-0 run that featured a Neal kill and consecutive aces from McDonald gave Richmond a 16-15 lead.
One more attack from Neal knotted the score at 17 points. A 7-3 run by Scotland made it match point.
Not going without a fight, McDonald kept Richmond alive with two kills. Edmondson, who was serving during the run, made a push at the net for the Lady Raiders’ final point.
Larsen said the team has to “put together the little things to get over the mid-game hump.”
She noted that “missed serves” and “communication” were two areas that the Lady Raiders struggled with against Scotland.
Richmond (5-8, 1-5 SAC) will take a break from conference action Wednesday when it travels to non-conference Pine Forest High School (7-6). Varsity will start at 6 p.m.
JV Lady Raiders complete comeback
Falling behind early in Tuesday’s match against Scotland, the Richmond junior varsity volleyball team scrapped its way back.
Forcing a third set, the JV Lady Raiders won 2-1. Set scores were 22-25, 25-21 and 15-7.
Richmond had a chance to close out the first set with a 22-18 lead. But Scotland went on a seven-point run to take a 1-0 lead.
Two aces by sophomore Lillian Hill and a kill from sophomore Ava Edwards helped Richmond out to an early lead in the second. An ace from freshman Kaylee Conner and an error made it 9-6.
Falling behind, a kill from sophomore Kaylee Dunn, an Edwards ace and a Scotland error tied it 14-14. Later, kills from Dunn and Conner with freshman Lizzie Lunceford serving erased another small deficit to take a 17-16 lead.
Down the stretch, sophomore Addison Butler had a key kill, which was followed by a Conner ace. Up 24-21, Richmond won the set on a Scotland service error.
Hill started the third set with a 4-0 run from the service line. A Butler kill forced an early timeout.
Conner zipped two straight aces, which were later followed by a five-point run for Richmond. Edwards had a kill, Butler dished out an ace and a trio of Scotland errors put Richmond ahead 12-5.
The JV Lady Raiders took the match with kills from Butler and Edwards sandwiched around a service error.
“Our passes looked better tonight, but we were very timid at the net during that first set,” head coach Melissa Dennis shared.
“We started being more aggressive which caused us to gain our momentum. We were able to finish strong.”
The JV volleyball team (6-6, 3-3 SAC) also travels to Pine Forest Wednesday. The match will begin at 5 p.m.
