ROCKINGHAM – While the No. 21 seeded Richmond Senior High School varsity volleyball team gears up for its playoff matchup against No. 12 Providence High School Tuesday, the junior varsity team’s 2018 season is officially in the books.
The JV Lady Raiders compiled a 16-4 overall record under seventh-year head coach Ashleigh Larsen, who also doubles as the varsity head coach (this is her first season at the varsity level). While neither Richmond team was able to repeat as the Sandhills Athletic Conference champion like the goal was at the onset of the season, Larsen still considered her most recent campaign a success with her underclassmen players.
“Going 16-4 is still pretty good,” Larsen commented Monday afternoon. “I thought there were times where they came back when they were down and showed some fight. Most impressive was that the girls put a ton to work in this season.
“There were six freshmen on the team, and it was really a clean slate from the team we had last year,” she added. Sophomores Jakerra (Covington) and Jayla (McDougald) were the only two returning starters, and Kelly and Shelly Hoffman and Cameron Neeley were returners who had to step up their roles.”
New to the team this year were six ninth graders, many of whom attend Richmond Early College. Joining the ranks of the Lady Raiders were Ellie Buck (middle hitter), Kiersten Gibson (outside hitter), Katelyn Huff (outside hitter), Darice Martin (right side hitter), Erial Norton-Smith (outside hitter) and Allyiah Swiney (outside hitter).
Larsen explained that part of the journey was not only balancing her time between coaching two teams, but also building the volleyball IQ and skillset needed for her players to be successful in the coming seasons. Current varsity players who made the leap this year who were on last year’s team include Georgia Grace Anderson, Emy Cooley, Taylor Chappell, Jasmine Ewing, Madison Jordan and Carley Lambeth.
“As a unit, they all did what they needed to do,” Larsen said of her JV players. “They came in and worked hard all season, and my returners helped the new girls learn everything like the rotation and different plays.
“Coaching two teams at once was a mixture of positives and negatives,” Larsen admitted. “The good this is now every player knows me right off the bat from start to finish. It was time consuming, but it was all worth it in the end. The girls on both teams were helpful with the transition.”
Jakerra Covington (9) returns a ball earlier this season.
The four losses on the season came against SAC opponents Jack Britt High School (twice), Pinecrest High School and Scotland High School in the regular season finale in overtime. But the Lady Raiders still put up impressive numbers, defeating tough non-conference opponents Lee County and Union Pines high schools, as well as sweeping the rest of the schedule against SAC play. Richmond split the double-header season series with the Lady Patriots and Lady Fighting Scots, and knocked off a tough nonconference Uwharrie Charter Academy team twice.
“Our biggest wins of the season were definitely against Lee County and Union Pines, two programs that always have good teams,” Larsen said of the early-season victories. “Our offense had some stand standout nights, and it seemed like the girls took turns to have strong performances.
“Whether it was Jakerra, Kelly, Allyiah or Katelyn, someone always stepped up,” she continued. “The unsung hero is always your setter, and Shelly played better as the season went on. On defense, Jayla was always receptive to play anywhere in back row — she started as our libero, moved to defensive specialist and finished the year as the right side hitter.”
Larsen also recalled her team’s sweep of Purnell Swett High School, which she noted as being “scrappy and loud,” but was proud of how her team “came back and achieved its goal” by showing “its determination to win in three sets both times.” Larsen called those wins “key moments” during Richmond’s SAC schedule.
Covington was the team’s heaviest hitter this season, racking up a team-high 70 kills while also spending some time floating back and forth with the varsity team. She added 25 aces, a team-high 44 digs and nine blocks. Helping Covington on the attack was Kelly Hoffman, as she drilled 58 kills, had a team-high 45 aces and dug the ball 21 times.
Swiney was third on the team with 26 kills, and Huff tacked on 19 more, while having a team second-best in digs with 41. Shelly Hoffman, the team’s setter, dished out 109 assists, served up 20 aces and totaled 21 digs.
In reflection of handling the program for the first time as the head coach, Larsen wasn’t shy in saying it was a season of development – especially for only having two players in Covington and McDougald who had seen “a decent amount of playing time” during their freshman season. And Larsen hopes to use this year’s development as a stepping stone for the future success of the program at both playing levels.
“There was a lot of progress this year,” she concluded. “The girls all learned new types of terminology, rotations and different roles. They picked it up pretty quick, but I really think the two hurricanes dampened this season’s development. But overall, I was pleased and I can’t wait to see what next season is like.”
