SOUTHERN PINES — The Richmond volleyball team’s hopeful run at a Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament championship ended Tuesday the same way it did last season.
The No. 4 Lady Raiders’ attempt to upset No. 1 Pinecrest High School in the semifinal round resulted in a 3-0 defeat.
The loss marked the second straight season Richmond and head coach Ashleigh Larsen exited the conference tournament at the hands of the Lady Patriots.
Set scores in the two teams’ third meeting this season were 10-25, 14-25 and 16-25.
“We didn’t play as aggressively as we had the past couple of games,” Larsen said. “There were several self-inflicted wounds in the first set that didn’t allow us to get anything going.
“There were also bright moments in the second and third sets that could have let us make some runs, but nothing went in our favor. Pinecrest had some big hitters and tried some different things tonight to stop them.”
Two kills from freshman Riley McDonald and two mistakes by Pinecrest led to a 4-4 tie early in the first set. But nine of the next 12 points went to the Lady Patriots (18-7, 13-0 SAC), who took a 13-6 lead and led to a timeout by Richmond.
Senior Christi Jacobs sent a bump over the net to score a point out of the break, and a tip by McDonald three volleys later got another point. But with the team trailing 9-19, Larsen called another break.
A 5-1 run by Pinecrest closed the first set with the final point coming off a service error.
A slow start in the second set yielded a 3-10 deficit for Richmond. Those three points were courtesy of two McDonald kills and an error.
Richmond took a timeout at that juncture and another one trailing 7-16. Between the breaks, junior setter Ava Edmondson, senior middle hitter Katie Way and McDonald each had a kill.
Down 13 points, a 4-0 stretch by Richmond cut into the score 11-20. With freshman Kenley Smith serving, McDonald had two kills, senior outside hitter MaKailah Jackson added one and a double touch by Pinecrest capped the run.
Pinecrest ended the set outscoring Richmond 5-3 to take a two-set advantage.
The final stanza followed a similar script as the first two. Kills from McDonald and Way cut into a 6-13 hole that resulted in a timeout.
Senior libero Allie Rodgers added a kill from the back row and senior hitter Keyoni Nichols dished out an ace. Another timeout was called with Richmond down 13-20.
Two errors and a final kill from McDonald recorded Richmond’s final three points, part of another 5-3 run by the Lady Patriots to end the match.
Richmond (11-11, 8-6 SAC) will now await the release of the NCHSAA’s 4A state playoff brackets on Friday.
“These past three matches have really helped us get ready for the postseason,” Larsen closed. “I told the girls I’m excited and I hope they can shake tonight off and go into Saturday wherever we go and be ready to play.”
Currently, the Lady Raiders are projected to make the postseason as the No. 29 seed in the 4A East, which would send them to No. 4 DH Conley High School.
The Richmond Observer will publish finalized playoff information when it’s made available.
