MT. GILEAD, N.C. – For the second time in in three nights, the Richmond Lady Raiders volleyball team dominated on the court and swept its opponent in straight games.
Improving to 2-0 on the early 2017 campaign, Richmond traveled to West Montgomery High School Thursday night and easily disposed of the Lady Warriors. The final scores of the three games were 25-15, 25-20 and 25-21, respectively.
“We came out strong in the first game,” reigning Sandhills Athletic Conference coach of the year Shellie Wimpey said. “However, we missed some serves in the second game (which allowed more points), but we finished strong by blocking really well in the third game.”
Leading the Lady Raiders on the stat sheet was senior outside hitter Altman Griffin, who after racking up eight kills Tuesday against South Stanly, added 14 more tonight. Junior outside hitter Savannah Lampley, who made all-conference as a sophomore, had a strong offensive outing, slamming down eight kills of her own. Owen Bowers, another essential senior middle hitter, matched Lampley in kills.
Lampley also helped defensively, earning a team-high nine digs, with Griffin adding eight more. Senior setter Mackenzie Webb was helpful yet again, supplying 36 assists, giving her 64 on the season.
As Richmond has opened its season with two non-conference wins, Wimpey’s focus still remains on playing fundamentally-sound volleyball, with an emphasis on blocking and serving.
“West Montgomery moved and covered the floor really well,” Wimpey noted. “And we can’t give teams like them points off missed serves because they will come back and get on a roll.”
Head coach Stefanie Panzer’s Lady Warriors squad made it interesting in games two and three, as the Lady Raiders let their opponent creep back into contention. Alas, Wimpey’s team was able to make adjustments and recover quickly.
“Our girls did a good job at making adjustments tonight,” Wimpey said. “They didn’t get down when West Montgomery came back, and we were able to close the match out in three games.”
The junior varsity team also had a good night, picking up its first win of the season, evening its record at 1-1. Winning in two games, 25-21, and 25-20, head coach Ashleigh Larsen was pleased with her team’s better effort from Tuesday.
“We’ve been working on being more aggressive,” Larsen said. “But the girls had much more communication (tonight) than they did against South Stanly.”
Sophomore Carley Lambeth tallied three aces, and dished up seven assists. Aiding in the scoring effort were sophomore Madison Jordan and freshman Taylor Chappell, both of whom had three kills.
The Lady Raiders have a full week coming up with three matches scheduled. Richmond will be on the road Tuesday (Lee County High School) and Wednesday (Anson High School). Both matches are set to start with junior varsity at 4:30 p.m. SAC play opens Thursday, as the Raiders host Purnell Swett High School in the first home game of the season. Play will begin at 5 p.m.