ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior High School junior varsity volleyball team picked up its fifth-straight win Thursday, and handed its opponent its first loss of the season in the process.
Starting the second round of Sandhills Athletic Conference play, the Lady Raiders redeemed an early-season loss to Purnell Swett High School.
Richmond won in straight sets, 2-0, behind set scores of 25-23 and 25-19. During the team’s current winning streak, it was the Lady Raiders’ fourth sweep of an opponent.
“It feels great to come out right away with a win for this second round,” head coach Melissa Dennis said. “We are a different team from where we started and now we can show it.
“I just reminded them of that feeling they left with after the last couple of games,” she added of her message to the team about playing an undefeated Purnell Swett. “I told them that we need to show them the team we are now.”
To open the match, both teams traded points to a 17-17 tie in the first set. Freshman Katie Way delivered one of her two kills of the game to tie the set, and followed at the serving line with a 4-0 run. She served all three of her aces during the stretch, putting Richmond up 21-17.
Purnell Swett wouldn’t go quietly, rallying to knot the stanza at 21 points. Following a Richmond timeout, the teams battled to two more ties. A pair of hitting errors from the Lady Rams (7-1) gave Richmond the two-point set win.
“We definitely had a lot of mistakes right there at the beginning of the first set, but the girls adjusted and fought for the lead,” Dennis said.
The Lady Raiders (5-3) used several runs in the second set to put Purnell Swett away. A 4-0 run to start the second saw an ace from sophomore Joy Styles and a back-row kill from sophomore Quston Leviner.
Leading by just one point, 5-4, Richmond used five consecutive errors from the Lady Rams to extend their lead. Leviner added another kill in the middle of the set for an 11-6 advantage.
Freshman outside hitter Jenna Gardner recorded a kill, which sent the Lady Raiders on a 5-0 spurt. Leviner tallied an ace to see Richmond lead 17-7.
Way and fellow freshman middle hitter Makailah Jackson proved to be the turning point down the stretch. With Purnell Swett chipping away at the lead, Way had a block, a kill and a tip at the net.
Jackson knocked home a kill on an assist from Styles to put the Lady Raiders up 22-16. Leading 24-19, Gardner iced the team’s win with another kill.
“It feels great. Winning these last few games has really boosted our confidence and made us better as a team,” Jackson explained, citing Richmond’s teamwork. “I have known Joy for while now and I know I can rely on her to keep my head up and my other teammates, too.”
Gardner, Jackson, Leviner and Way all had two kills in the win. Way led the team with three aces, and Styles added two aces, two digs and five assists. Freshman libero Allie Rodgers contributed from the back row with two digs.
The JV Lady Raiders will return to action next Tuesday at home against Pinecrest High School. Richmond will look to avenge a loss to the Lady Patriots starting at 5 p.m.
“Pinecrest is a good team, but like I said we are a different team,” Dennis closed. “We need to take practice seriously the next few days. It is important that we use every ball. We can’t waste a free ball and we have to take advantage of them.”
