ROCKINGHAM — Richmond Senior High School head volleyball coach Ashleigh Larsen got the news she was hoping to hear early Thursday afternoon — the Lady Raiders were playoff bound with a first-round home match.
In her second year as Richmond’s head coach, Larsen and her band of Lady Raiders made it a perfect 2-for-2 when trying for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 4A postseason under her direction.
Richmond (19-6) earned the No. 14 seed in the West region after notching third place in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings, and will welcome in the No. 19 Ronald Reagan High School Lady Raiders (14-12, Central Piedmont Conference) on Saturday in the opening round of the state playoffs.
“I’m pretty happy with getting the seeding we did,” Larsen said. “We’re more content that we’re home in the first round and we really want to use our home court to our advantage and get the girls fired up.”
At home this season, the Lady Raiders racked up a 10-2 record and outscored their opponents 32-10 in total sets. Six of the 10 wins were sweeps, and Richmond has won six of their last seven home contests.
It’s the sixth-straight season the Lady Raiders have punched their postseason ticket, and the No. 14 seed is the second highest ranking Richmond has received during that span.
Under former head coach Shellie Wimpey, the Lady Raiders earned a No. 2 seed in the West during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Both times Richmond would fall in the second round, first to Mallard Creek followed by Lake Norman.
Prior to that, the second best seed Richmond received was a No. 16 berth in 2015 against Reagan. That match, the only other time the two squads of Lady Raiders have met in the regular or postseason, ended in a 3-0 win for Reagan.
Richmond has been riding a wave of momentum the last handful of matches, having swept rival Scotland High School twice and making it to the SAC championship match against Pinecrest. This year’s team touts several experienced players who have postseason experience, including senior libero Layne Maultsby who has enjoyed a three-year run ahead of this fall.
Senior outside hitter Jadyn Johnson comes in with two years of playoff experience, while fellow seniors Jasmine Ewing, Madison Jordan and Carley Lambeth, along with juniors Georgia Grace Anderson, Taylor Chappell, Emy Cooley and Jakerra Covington all helped last season’s team make the postseason.
The difference, Larsen hopes, will be for the experience to kick in and allow her players to handle the win-or-go-home matches with more poise.
“Last year it was brand new for a lot of us and me being a new head coach,” Larsen explained. “This year we know we can’t walk in and be complacent, whether we’re home or away. The regularity of playing at home should definitely help us.
“All the girls have one more year of experience and that, too, will make us better,” she added. “A lot of them had never played in a playoff game before last year, so with that under their belts, I feel more confident about this year.”
Reagan finished fourth in the Central Piedmont standings, and was four games behind conference winner West Forsyth High School. In the CPC tournament, the Lady Raiders fell to West Forsyth in the second round, the team that would win the tournament.
Larsen admitted there will be “a lot of unknowns” when the teams play on Saturday, but that’s not hindering her or the Lady Raiders’ confidence. The main goal, she said, is to get over the team’s “second round slump” that hasn’t seen Richmond move past the second round in any of the last five postseason runs.
From 2015 to 2017, the Lady Raiders made it to the second round but lost all three times. In 2014 and 2018, Richmond made a first-round exit.
“I would love to break our second round slump and make it to the third round or better,” Larsen said of a realistic goal. “I really think the girls can do it, especially since several of the girls have been working toward that for a couple of years now.
“If they believe in themselves, have a strong mental toughness and play like the team that has finished the (regular) season, then it’s possible,” she added. “The girls have been playing their best volleyball and playing together as a team — that’s the key for us.”
First serve against Reagan is slated for a 3 p.m. start on Saturday inside Raider Gymnasium. Should Richmond win, it would face No. 3 Pinecrest, which secured a first-round bye.
