ROCKINGHAM — A fast start coupled with a little Raider Magic and a strong finish by a handful of players led the Richmond Senior High School volleyball team to a win in its season opener on Tuesday.
Hosting non-conference Anson High School, the Lady Raiders and second-year head coach Ashleigh Larsen kickstarted the 2019 campaign with a 3-1 win over the Lady Bearcats. Set scores were 25-21, 25-23, 15-25 and 25-19.
The win marked the third-straight season opener the Lady Raiders have won, and proved to be the sixth-straight time Richmond has handed the Lady Bearcats a loss dating back to Aug. 2016.
After winning the first two sets by small margins, the Lady Raiders went flat in the third. However, down by three points late in the fourth set, Anson served out of rotation, leveling the score and tying the set 19-19. From there, it was all Lady Raiders.
“We started out strong, but I told the girls we gave the momentum away in the third set,” Larsen said. “We let No. 4 (Revie Byars) serve us right off the court for seven or eight serves and it got us in a funk. But I told the girls ‘mind over matter’ and they got it together in the fourth set and thankfully we came out on top.”
Larsen used the same eight players for a majority of the match, seeing seniors Jadyn Johnson (9 kills) and Madison Jordan (6 kills) serve as the outside hitters. Juniors Georgia Grace Anderson (team-high 11 kills) and Jakerra Covington (6 kills) locked down the middle, combining for six blocks.
Junior Taylor Chappell “continued to adjust” at right side, while junior Emy Cooley fulfilled her role as a defensive specialist. Senior libero Layne Maultsby made the back row her own, leading the team with 12 digs on the night. Fellow senior setter Carley Lambeth dished out 37 assists while adding two kills and an ace.
In the final set, Richmond and Anson traded points back and forth, seeing the two squads tied at 14 points. The Lady Raiders would take a three-point advantage, but Anson battled ahead to regain a 21-18 lead. That’s when officials noticed Celeste Dutton’s team was serving out of order.
With the game knotted at 19 points, Richmond went on a 6-0 run to secure the win. Cooley was at the serving line for the Lady Raiders and got some help from Anson with two hitting errors, and also recorded her lone ace of the match.
Anderson, who’s 6-1, got to work and used her height and presence at the middle of the net to record the other three points. A block alongside Covington gave Richmond a one-point lead, and then Anderson tipped the ball in no-man’s land on the next volley. She ended her night with a kill to give Richmond a 23-19 lead.
“We came out with a bunch of energy in the first two sets,” Anderson commented. “We let up a little bit in the third because we thought we were going to win. But we came back in the fourth with a new mindset and won.
“I felt like I needed to do a lot to help the team,” she said of the closing rally. “When I got that block, I thought ‘oh yeah, it’s game over.’ I was on and Carley was setting me good. Emy’s serving definitely kept us in the game.”
For Larsen, her team looked good in its first regular season contest of the fall.
“I told the girls I saw a lot of good things,” she said. “Our strongest point is our serve-receive. They got aggressive on offense tonight, which was great. Georgia Grace and Jakerra played a great game, stuffed the middle and were moving around. Madison and Jadyn got some good swings, too.”
The Lady Raiders (1-0) will return to action Wednesday at newly formed Montgomery Central High School. The game will be played at West Montgomery High School. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.
JV Lady Raiders fall to Anson in season opener
Ahead of the varsity game Tuesday, head coach Melissa Dennis and the junior varsity Lady Raider volleyball team also opened their season. Richmond would fall to the Lady Bearcats 2-1. Set scores were 19-25, 27-25 and 15-25.
Sophomore Taylor Waitley led the team with six kills, followed by three kills from freshman Catherine Dennis. Sophomores Saniah Durham and Allyiah Swiney each added two kills. The JV Lady Raiders will look to enter the win column Wednesday at Montgomery Central, starting at 5 p.m.
