ROCKINGHAM — It was another short night for the Lady Raiders as they swept their second opponent in as many nights and extended their winning streak to five games.
Taking a break from the rigor of its Sandhills Athletic Conference schedule, the Richmond Senior High School volleyball team welcomed in non-conference Uwharrie Charter Academy on Wednesday. The 3-0 win put the Lady Raiders at the 10-win mark in just 11 matches, which is six matches faster than a season ago.
The current five-match winning streak is the second stretch of straight wins of that length for Richmond this season, matching its 5-0 start to the campaign. In what was just the third all-time meeting against the Lady Eagles, the Lady Raiders improved to 3-0 and earned their first sweep (both previous matches went to five sets).
Set scores were 25-17, 28-26 and 25-21 in favor of the Lady Raiders. Richmond trailed by seven points midway through the second set, but battled back on a 14-5 run to win it.
“It’s so much fun to be winning so many of our matches,” assistant coach Melissa Dennis said. “When we have something like a winning streak to protect, our girls play with so much more intensity. It’s fun to watch them come together and play with that kind of spark.”
One thing Dennis noted she would like to see go away is Richmond’s slow starts the past couple of matches. The first set saw both teams roll out to a 10-10 tie, but senior outside hitter Madison Jordan helped start a rally that would see Richmond outscore Uwharrie Charter 15-7 down the stretch.
Jordan pushed the ball into open space for a point and followed with back-to-back aces from the serving line to give Richmond an 11-10 lead. She was followed by kills from junior middle hitter Jakerra Covington, senior outside hitter Jadyn Johnson and junior defensive specialist Emy Cooley.
Senior libero Layne Maultsby added an ace to give Richmond an 18-14 lead, and junior middle hitter Georgia Grace Anderson added her two kills of the set in the final six points to earn the first set win.
The second game was the most intense of the match, seeing the Lady Raiders battle back from a 21-14 deficit. Trailing by six points, 18-12, Dennis called a timeout. Out of the break, Anderson found the deck with two kills and Covington and Johnson each added one of her own. A couple of Lady Eagles’ errors saw the lead cut to 22-18 before head coach Lee Kennell called a timeout.
That pause in action only seemed to help Richmond, as it closed out the set on a 10-4 run. A Covington kill was followed by two aces from senior setter Carley Lambeth, but Uwharrie Charter managed to get up 24-22, making Dennis call her second timeout of the set.
A serving error and hitting error on back-to-back series by the Lady Eagles knotted the match at 25 points apiece. Covington would slam home one of her four kills in the set off the hands of a defender, and Johnson made a crucial dig on a long volley moments later that resulted in another Richmond point. Anderson capped the 28-26 set win with one of her four kills in the stanza.
Leading two games to none, Richmond broke open the third set when it was tied at 15 points. A 10-6 run to close the frame saw Anderson record a block and Jordan make an athletic diving save that resulted in a Uwharrie Charter hitting error. Anderson came through again with a block and a kill to end the match for the final two points.
“We didn’t want to go to four games so the comeback in the second set was really good for our confidence,” Dennis said. “The girls stuck together and we’re known to come back from those situations.
“Our defense played exceptionally well tonight,” she closed. “There were a lot of pursuits that our girls were able to get to and finish on the offensive end. Overall, there was a lot of really good team play.”
Maultsby carried the weight on defense, racking up a team-high 13 digs. Cooley added nine digs, while the pair of defensive players each added a kill in the win. At the net, Anderson recorded a team-high four blocks, while Covington and junior right side hitter Taylor Chappell tallied two apiece.
Offensively, it was Covington who led the way with kills, using her left hand to notch eight spikes. Anderson was right behind her with seven, and Johnson had five kills and six digs. At the serving line, Richmond had seven aces, seeing Lambeth, Jordan and Chappell each record two. Lambeth also led the team with 23 assists during the match.
Richmond (10-1, 4-1 SAC) will look to extend its winning streak to a season-high six games when it travels to SAC foe Scotland High School (7-5, 5-1 SAC) on Thursday.
In what will be a crucial match that will help shift the conference standings, the Lady Fighting Scots are currently one game ahead of Richmond and tied with Pinecrest High School for first place. First serve is expected to start at 6:30 p.m. following the junior varsity match.
JV Lady Raiders earn win over Lady Eagles
The junior varsity team also picked up a non-conference win Wednesday, winning the first and third sets for a 2-1 victory. Set scores were 25-13, 23-25 and 25-12.
Returning from a mild ankle injury was sophomore Kaitlyn Huff, who recorded a team-high six aces in the win. Freshman Catherine Dennis had three perfect serves, while sophomore Taylor Waitley had two aces. Sophomore Allyiah Swiney notched a team-best two kills.
Now 6-5 on the season, the JV team will start play at Scotland on Thursday at 5 p.m.
