ROCKINGHAM — A playoff-like atmosphere filled Richmond’s gymnasium on Thursday as the volleyball team celebrated its seniors in style.
Closing out the regular season, the Lady Raiders completed a comeback win on senior night against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Scotland High School.
Rallying after dropping the first set, fourth-place Richmond won a five-set thriller 3-2 over third-place Scotland. Scores were 21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 11-25 and 15-7.
The Lady Raiders got off to a strong start in the first set, which featured nine ties and three separate three-point leads for the home team.
Trailing 19-21, head coach Ashleigh Larsen called a timeout. Freshman middle hitter Riley McDonald, who was instrumental on the attack in all five sets, tipped the ball into open space out of the break.
Thanks to a hitting error by Scotland (14-7, 8-4 SAC), Richmond tied it up at 21 points. But a 4-0 run by the visitors ended the first set.
The second stanza featured a series of runs by both teams after a 4-4 tie to start. A kill from McDonald and two from Way built a small cushion before a 3-0 stretch with Nichols serving made it 10-6.
Three consecutive points from the Lady Scots were followed by four straight errors by them to pad Richmond’s lead 13-9. A timeout from Scotland didn’t slow Richmond down, which opened its advantage to 20-13 thanks to a smart play by McDonald.
With Madison Dixon serving for Scotland, the Lady Scots rallied to collect 10 straight points to regain the lead 23-20. Way stopped the run with a push to the floor, which started a 5-0 rally for Richmond to knot the match.
Nichols served the next four points, using a couple of Scotland errors and a kill from Jackson. The set point came on a Scotland miscue.
Eight more ties in the third set highlighted a back-and-forth affair. Consecutive kills from McDonald tied it at 11 and 12 points, but Scotland trudged ahead 16-12 and Larsen called another timeout.
Down by as many as five points, Richmond used a Jackson kill, a tip from junior setter Ava Edmondson, a Way kill and an error to pull within a point.
With Scotland ahead 21-18, Jacobs joined the scoring with a pair of kills from the outside position. A tip past a pair of blockers by McDonald made it a new ball game.
Those points were the first three of a 7-1 run by the Lady Raiders to close the set and take a 2-1 advantage. McDonald had three of the final four points, including a soft play off an Edmondson assist for the final point.
Not going away quietly, Scotland controlled the fourth set from the start. A 10-4 lead for the Lady Scots quickly moved to 18-8.
After a timeout called by Richmond, the Lady Scots forced the fifth set with a 7-3 stretch.
A pair of hitting errors by Scotland started the fifth, which was added to by a McDonald kill. But the score remained close with ties at three, four, five and six points.
A serve into the net by Dixon started a 3-0 spurt by Richmond, which saw Edmondson shake two defenders with a smart redirect. Leading 9-6, Richmond got a break when Scotland paused the action.
The attempt to slow the Lady Raiders’ momentum didn’t work. After Scotland got a point back, a kill from Way sent her to the service line.
With the help of four straight points from McDonald and a Scotland error, Way served Richmond to the victory.
McDonald alternated between tips and kills to make it match point. On the final return from Scotland, Gardner dug a pass to Edmonson, who dished it to McDonald.
McDonald’s attack was dug up but an errant second attempt sent the ball into the net for the winning point.
Richmond (10-10, 7-5 SAC) finished the regular season with its first winning record in SAC play 2019 and first overall record of at least .500 since the same campaign.
The Lady Raiders secured the No. 4 seed in the standings and will host No. 5 Hoke County High School (8-12, 4-8 SAC) on Monday in the first round of the SAC tournament.
This season, Richmond has defeated the Lady Bucks in both meetings, 3-0 and 3-2, respectively.
JV Lady Raiders end season with win
Starting the celebratory mood on Thursday, the Richmond junior varsity volleyball team made quick work against Scotland in its regular-season finale.
The JV Lady Raiders completed the season sweep of Scotland, this time winning in straight sets 2-0.
Scores in their final match were 25-11 and 25-14.
“I had so much fun watching this group of ladies play tonight,” head coach Melissa Dennis said. “They were so excited tonight and were so aggressive at the net. The communication was there and everyone was moving well on defense.
“I have enjoyed each of these ladies this season and I am so proud of how far they have come. It makes me very excited for future seasons.”
The JV Lady Raiders finished their season with a 12-8 overall record and a 6-6 mark in the SAC.
