ROCKINGHAM — Despite a valiant effort trying to defend their home court, the Lady Raiders saw their five-game winning streak to start the season broken Tuesday, falling to rival Pinecrest High School.
An early-season rivalry match between the two undefeated squads saw Pinecrest come away with a 3-1 victory in the Sandhills Athletic Conference contest. The win snapped the Lady Raiders’ perfect start and extended their losing streak to the Lady Patriots to four games dating back to last season.
In what turned out to be an intense battle that saw several athletic plays from both teams to extend volleys and the largest home crowd this season, set scores were 22-25, 25-14, 21-25 and 23-25. The Lady Raiders (5-1, 1-1 SAC) saw rallies in the first and third sets come up short and a late lead in the fourth set escape them.
“The girls really wanted to win tonight and it really showed by how intense they played,” assistant coach Melissa Dennis said following the match. “The way the fans rallied with us all night long made a huge difference. There were times the girls got down on themselves, but for the most part, they played a really strong game.”
To open the match, Pinecrest took an 18-13 lead in the first set, prompting a Richmond timeout. Out of the break, junior middle hitter Jakerra Covington recorded a block at the next that sparked a 4-2 run that closed the gap.
Another timeout was called with the Lady Patriots (5-0, 2-0 SAC) leading 23-18, and junior middle hitter Georgia Grace Anderson knocked a kill to continue the rally. Junior defensive specialist Emy Cooley made a big-time dig on a kill attempt a series later, and a Pinecrest hitting error made it a one-point match. Pinecrest, however, would close on a 2-0 run to win the set, clinched by a Lexi Allen kill.
The second set was all Richmond, as the Lady Raiders dominated the game and took home an 11-point set win. Following back-to-back aces by senior outside hitter Madison Jordan, Richmond took a 15-7 lead, forcing Pinecrest to call a timeout. From there, the Lady Raiders jumped out to a 12-point advantage, 20-8.
Covington helped closed the door when she crushed home a left-handed kill, followed by a kill two volleys later from senior outside hitter Jadyn Johnson. Anderson tipped a ball into no-man’s land to cap the second set.
Pinecrest would swing the game’s momentum back in its favor in the third set, getting out to a 10-2 lead before Dennis called a timeout. The Lady Raiders chipped away at the lead, using an Anderson ace, two Covington blocks and a kill from junior right side hitter Taylor Chappell to cut the deficit to 21-15.
During the closing moments of the third, the Lady Raiders went on an 8-2 run to make it a 22-20 game. Covington had two kills and Johnson added a tip at the net, but a Richmond hitting error gave the Lady Patriots the set win and snuffed out the home team’s rally.
For a majority of the fourth set, Richmond appeared to be gearing up for a fifth set, seeing itself off to an 17-11 lead following back-to-back aces from Johnson. During that opening stretch, Chappell had an ace, Anderson and Chappell each blocked a shot and Johnson and Covington found space on the floor with a kill.
Following a timeout called by Pinecrest, the Lady Patriots closed on a 14-5 run to rally past Richmond and earn the match win.
“Volleyball is a game of momentum and whoever has it has the job of keeping it going,” Dennis explained. “We did a good job of really shutting Pinecrest down during that second game, but we just couldn’t do it the whole time.
“It’s good for our girls to face such a tough team and experience coming back after losing a set,” she added. “Playing down to your competition is a real thing, but it’s good to also play good teams like them. We’re ready to come back out later this week and get back in the win column.”
Covington would finish with a team-high eight kills, followed by five from Anderson and four from Johnson. Anderson led the Lady Raiders with three aces, with Jordan, Johsnon and senior libero Layne Maultsby each adding two.
Senior setter Carley Lambeth dished out 19 assists on the night and picked up 10 digs. Maultsby led the Lady Raiders with 12 digs, and Covington (4) and Anderson (3) combined for seven blocks.
Richmond will look to return to the win column when they travel to Jack Britt High School (2-4, 1-0 SAC) on Thursday if no changes are made by Hurricane Dorian. The SAC match will begin at 6 p.m.
JV Lady Raiders fall in straight sets to Pinecrest
In junior varsity action, the Lady Raiders fell to Pinecrest in straight sets, 16-25 and 7-25. No other stats were available for the match. The JV Lady Raiders will open play against Jack Britt on Thursday at 5 p.m.
