Home Local Sports Straight-set loss to Uwharrie Charter prepares Lady Raiders for conference play

Straight-set loss to Uwharrie Charter prepares Lady Raiders for conference play

Junior middle hitter Catherine Dennis (16) blocks a shot for a point in the first set of Wednesday's match.
Kyle Pillar — Sports Editor.

ROCKINGHAM —  Two nights after registering its first win, the Lady Raider volleyball team fell in straight sets to Uwharrie Charter Academy on Wednesday.

Head coach Ashleigh Larsen pointed to miscommunication as an issue in the loss, which saw Richmond drop set scores of 11-25, 14-25 and 8-25. 

“Our communication died again and we were a little bit down on ourselves,” Larsen said. “It’s more of the mental game we have to try and get over. 

“I told the girls that some of them are making the same mistakes and not correcting them on the court. We need to find that niche like we had on Monday and show that we want to win.”

Richmond and Uwharrie Charter opened the first set by trading points early, and sophomore middle hitter Katie Way collected her first kill to make it a 5-4 deficit for the Lady Raiders. 

Finding open spots in the middle of the floor, the Lady Eagles then went on a 6-0 run to take a 14-6 lead, forcing Richmond to take a timeout. Junior middle hitter Catherine Dennis stopped the run on the next volley, delivering a kill.

Dennis added a block at the net to keep Richmond within six points, but another 6-0 run by Uwharrie Charter made it a 21-9 lead. Way recorded another kill and junior defensive specialist Joy Styles added a back-row kill for the team’s final point in the set.

The second set featured two early kills, one each from Dennis and senior outside hitter Allyiah Swiney. An ace from Styles knotted the frame a 5-5. 

Trailing 11-9, Richmond let the Lady Eagles go on a 5-0 run before responding with three straight points to make it a 16-12 deficit. Uwharrie Charter used a 9-2 run to close the second.

Sophomore Jenna Gardner (3) sets a pass during Wednesday’s home match. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)

“I did see some great things tonight, and there were some good passes,” Larsen explained. “But we just didn’t capitalize when things did go our way.”

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The Lady Raiders had a slow start to the third set, quickly falling behind 9-0 and calling a timeout. Dennis notched another kill out of the break, but Uwharrie Charter controlled the tempo with a 15-7 stretch to earn the match win.

Sophomore setter Jenna Gardner explained that even with a tough stretch of games to start the season, the Lady Raiders are starting to build better chemistry on the court.

“We are warming up to each other in practice and we’re really working hard to learn our new roles,” Gardner said. “The team is starting to trust each other more and that’s building our momentum (moving forward).”

Now 1-4 on the season, Richmond will take a break from its non-conference schedule and prepare to open Sandhills Athletic Conference play against Southern Lee (3-0) next Tuesday at 6 p.m.

“Uwharrie Charter is close to what we’ll see on Tuesday and Thursday to start conference play,” Larsen said. “This was good scheduling, we just need to fill in our blanks in between and get our communication down.

“It was a good start to the season, not that we wanted the record we have, but it prepared us mentally for what we’re walking into with conference play. Hopefully we can clean up our little mistakes and get a win next time out.”

Note: Official stats from Wednesday’s match will be added to this publication when they are made available.

JV Lady Raiders also fall to Lady Eagles

Richmond’s junior varsity team also fell in straight sets to Uwharrie Charter on Wednesday, 0-2. Set scores were close, seeing the JV Lady Raiders lose 21-25 and 23-25.

Now 2-3 on the year, the JV team will open SAC play at home against Southern Lee on Tuesday, beginning at 5 p.m.



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Kyle Pillar is a 22-time North Carolina Press Association award-winning sports editor with The Richmond Observer. Follow the sports department on X @ROSports_ for the best in-depth coverage of Richmond County sports.