ROCKINGHAM - For the second night in a row, a Richmond Senior High School athletics program honored its 12th-grade players on senior night, this time in senior volleyball players Savannah Chappell and Savannah Lampley.
Known affectionately amongst the team as “Big Bannie” and “Lil Bannie,” respectively, nicknames that are rooted in their third grade year books, Chappell and Lampley helped the Lady Raiders fly past Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Seventy-First High School in four sets Tuesday, 3-1. This year’s graduating class was significantly smaller than last year’s six seniors, which included four All-SAC players, but certainly was just as important.
Set scores in the victory were 20-25, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-16.
Underneath the flowers, balloons and smiles, Tuesday’s win for Richmond (12-7, 9-4) was its fifth in a row, all of which have come against SAC opponents. The win continues the Lady Raiders’ late-season push heading into the SAC tournament, which is slated to start sometime next week following the end of the regular season.
“Being with them for the last four years, I really hate to see them go,” head coach Ashleigh Larsen said of her two seniors. “This isn’t the end yet -- we’ve got quite a few more games to go in the regular season and SAC tournament. They’ve both been a vital part of this program and we’re all going to miss them as leaders on the court. It’s been an honor to coach them.”
Entering the night, the Lady Raiders sat alone in the third-place spot in the SAC standings, while the Lady Falcons (5-9, 4-8 SAC) were in fifth-place. Richmond defeated Seventy-First in the two teams’ first meeting this year, also a four-set win, and Tuesday’s victory marked the fourth SAC team the Lady Raiders have beaten twice in the regular season this year (Hoke County, Lumberton and Purnell Swett high schools were the other three).
The first set went to the Lady Falcons, their only victory of the night, as LaKelli Butler’s visiting team rolled out to an 11-5 lead thanks to back-to-back kills by Morrigan Denman and Emony Johnson. Larsen called a time out, but out of the break, Seventy-First charged ahead to its largest lead of the night, nine points, to lead 17-8.
Richmond made an attempt to rally late with a 5-0 run itself, which saw a Lampley kill and four Lady Falcon hitting errors that closed the deficit to 17-13. Following a stoppage in play, this time by Butler, Seventy-First used a string of errors and a kill to take the opening frame.
But Richmond dug its heels in starting with the second set, ultimately sweeping the Lady Falcons in the final three sets to emerge victorious.
“I told the girls that they were the ones who beat themselves in the first set,” Larsen explained of her pep talk in between sets. “I made it clear that they can go out there and get fired up and beat them -- but that’s a will they needed to find and they did. It wasn’t the prettiest win tonight, but the girls pulled it out and we’ll take it.”
Senior outside hitter Savannah Lampley (12) with her parents Angela and Danny Lampley.
Richmond found itself down early in the second set, and didn’t earn its first lead of the night until it rallied to take a small one-point lead 7-6, which was a result of a block by sophomore middle hitter Georgia Grace Anderson. Her block at the net caused Butler to call a timeout, but it was the Lady Raiders who kept the momentum on their side of the net. Aces by junior Jadyn Johnson and Anderson, paired with a strong right-handed kill by Lampley, put the home team up by its largest lead in the second set, 14-9.
Seventy-First, which brought some heavy hitters in Denman and Zoe White, wouldn’t go away quietly, as the Lady Falcons made a 5-0 run to tie things up. Both teams traded points for the remainder of the set, with the difference makers for Richmond coming via two Johnson kills and another Anderson ace.
After tying the match at one set apiece, Larsen’s squad began the third set with a five-point lead thanks to two kills by junior Allexis Swiney, and a block and a kill by Lampley. Though things started right for Richmond, Seventy-First got into a grove, rolling out to a 12-8 lead thanks to a 12-3 run. But the Lady Raider defense stood tall to answer back with another 5-0 stint, this time using an Anderson/Swiney block assist, a Swiney ace, another Anderson block, a kill by junior libero Layne Maultsby and a Lady Falcons hitting error to regain the lead.
Things got testy when the umpire called Anderson for a net violation, allowing Seventy-First to knot the third set at 20, which was followed by another point to give it a 21-20 lead over Richmond. Larsen used another timeout to corral her team, and it worked, as a Swiney kill and several Richmond attacks resulted in digging errors on the Lady Falcons to win the third frame.
To wrap things up with a win for their senior teammates, the Lady Raiders had their best set of the night in the fourth set. Swiney tacked on another ace, while Anderson, Chappell and Lampley all added big-time kills in the middle of the set to take a 13-8 advantage. The best run of the set came in the latter half, a 6-0 charge, that gave Richmond an eight-point lead, 22-14.
Johnson closed the door on the team’s fifth-straight win with an ace, her third of the night.
“I’ve taken more of a leadership role this season,” Lampley, who was a four year starter, said of her senior campaign. “Last year I was a leader on the team, but we had a lot more seniors. This year I’ve tried to keep everyone up when we get down.
“My favorite stretch of the season was when we beat Uwharrie Charter (Academy) in five sets two times,” the UNCW softball commit added. “Those were two big wins in the beginning. It would really mean a lot to me if we could win the conference tournament since we’re not going to win the conference (outright). I definitely want to beat Pinecrest.”
Senior middle hitter Savannah Chappell (10) with her parents Pat and Michelle Chappell and younger sister Taylor Chappell (15).
Chappell, who has been with the program since her ninth grade season, spoke about her bigger role as a starter during her final year.
“This year was difficult for me to adjust to because I didn’t play much (as a junior),” Chappell said. “But my first year as a starter has been fun -- my teammates have come together to help me get better. We’ve played really well together.
“It feels really good to win five games in a row, and we’re ready to close out the season with a win against Scotland (High School) on Thursday,” she concluded.
As a team, the Lady Raiders tallied 30 kills, 90 digs, nine aces and five blocks. Lampley finished her senior night with a team-high 13 kills, and was one of five players with double-digit digs, recording 13. Johnson was second with five kills, and tallied 16 digs and a team-high three aces. Out of the back row, Swiney and Maultsby went one and two, respectively, collecting 24 and 23 digs, both with 10 digs in the third set.
Chappell finished the night with two kills and one dig, while junior setter Carley Lambeth had an ace and 28 assists.
The Lady Raiders will close out the regular season on the road Thursday at fourth-place Scotland (7-10, 6-7 SAC). A win would give Richmond another regular season sweep against an SAC opponent, and Larsen explained that the conference’s coaches will meet Saturday to discuss the upcoming SAC tournament. Thursday’s match is scheduled for 6 p.m.
