ROCKINGHAM — In the first installment of ROSports’ “Top 10 Sports Stories” from the 2019-20 school year, the Richmond Senior High School volleyball team brings a lot of intensity.
Entering the season with five seniors, the Lady Raiders were on a mission to try and clinch their first Sandhills Athletic Conference title in two years. Although Richmond and head coach Ashleigh Larsen would take third place for the second straight season, it wasn’t without a rousing attempt, especially against their rivals.
Larsen’s second campaign at the head of the program finished with a 19-7 overall record, including a 9-5 mark against SAC opponents. The Lady Raiders also qualified for the NCHSAA 4A state playoffs, but fell in a tightly contested opening-round match to Ronald Reagan High School.
Perhaps the most electric of the team’s 19 wins came on senior night on Oct. 17, when Richmond honored seniors Jasmine Ewing, Jadyn Johnson, Madison Jordan, Carley Lambeth and Layne Maultsby against rival Scotland High School.
At the time of the match, the two teams were fighting for a third-place finish in the regular season standings. Scotland defeated Richmond in the first meeting on Sept. 19, which set up a shot at redemption on senior night.
What Larsen called a “total team effort” and the most satisfying atmosphere for her girls to play in, the Lady Raiders swept the Lady Scots in straight sets to earn a 3-0 win and third place. Set scores were 25-11, 25-16 and 25-18.
The win on senior night gave Richmond the No. 3 seed in the SAC tournament, and after defeating No. 6 Purnell Swett High School in the opening round, a rubber match was set with Mallory Wheeler and the Lady Scots.
Richmond would play deja vu just five nights later in the second round, sweeping Scotland for the second time in as many meetings, using set scores of 25-19, 25-23 and 25-20 to advance to the SAC tournament championship for the third consecutive season.
The excitement of the late-season sweeps of their rivals earned the Lady Raiders the opening spot in our countdown. It edged out several honorable mentions, which will be highlighted in a separate article once the top sports story is released.
Below is the link to the original senior night game story, written by sports editor Kyle Pillar for the Oct. 18, 2019, edition of the Richmond Observer:
