SANFORD, N.C. - With the Richmond Senior High School Lady Raider volleyball team set to open the 2018 season Tuesday at home, it got its preseason “jitters out” during Saturday’s jamboree at Lee County High School.
The scrimmage allowed head coach Ashleigh Larsen and her 11 varsity players the opportunity to face off against five quality opponents ahead of hosting Uwharrie Charter Academy in the season opener. On the docket over the weekend was familiar Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Pinecrest High School, as well as non-conference regular Lee County.
Playing five matches on the day, with each lasting 50 minutes, the Lady Raiders also faced Berean Baptist Academy (Fayetteville, N.C.), Overhills High School (Spring Lake, N.C.) and Southern Lee High School (Sanford, N.C.).
The jamboree didn’t follow traditional volleyball match rules, as each team switched sides at the halfway point of the allotted 50 minutes. Though the score wasn’t kept by the officials, Larsen explained that her team split the 10 total sets it played.
But as a new era of volleyball is ushered in this season with the departures of former players and former head coach Shellie Wimpey, Larsen used the jamboree as a chance to piece together her starting lineup for the forthcoming regular season.
The team this season is young (with only two seniors), but experienced, with a handful of varsity returners filling the shoes of four All-SAC players a year ago. Larsen also used a two-setter format at the jamboree, rotating rising senior Savannah Lampley and rising junior Carley Lambeth.
“With it being our first actual game this summer, it was really good to see the girls communicating with one another,” Larsen said. “They started looking more comfortable as the day went on, and all 11 players got to play a decent amount of time.
“There are still a lot of things we’ve got to work on, mostly correcting ourselves on some minor issues,” she added. “Right now, the girls just need to gain more confidence -- a lot of them were really nervous (Saturday). I want them to be more aggressive, we got some jitters out, and there were a lot of positives.”
Richmond swept the Overhills Lady Jaguars in both sets they played to open the jamboree, with Larsen noting that Overhills is historically a “strong program.” In the next match, the Lady Raiders split the two sets with the Lady Patriots, who finished second in the SAC in 2017 with a 10-4 conference record.
“I used a good mix of girls,” Larsen explained. “This was the first game they played together for real, and I used two different lineups. It was good for us to start with Overhills -- the girls were competitive, and got a chance to develop and got a lot of experience.
“I didn’t go with my real line up (against Pinecrest),” she continued. “And I thought we played really well against them -- our girls were psyched up because they knew it was big conference rival. I liked to see them fired up, which let them take aggressive swings.”
After their first two matches, the Lady Raiders switched from the main gym to Lee County’s old field house, which brought on Southern Lee and Berean Baptist Academy -- as well as no air conditioning. While the heat wasn’t all to blame, Larsen noted her team tired more quickly in the warmer atmosphere, as Richmond split sets with the Lady Cavs and Lady Bulldogs.
“We started okay against both teams, but the heat in the gym got to the girls -- it was pretty evident,” Larsen noted. “The girls had quite a few service and ball handling errors, but I thought they played well against Southern Lee -- they are another aggressive team with a lot of travel players.
“I tried two new lineups, switching girls into different positions and letting them play next to each other,” she added. “In the Berean match, we just couldn’t seem to get anything going, so I had to give a little motivational speech. And the girls responded and pushed forward, and got more comfortable with the lineups.”
Richmond wrapped up the day by heading back to the main gym and facing the host Lady Yellow Jackets. Larsen told her girls to “go out swinging” like they did against Pinecrest, but the Lady Raiders found themselves down by at least 10 points in both of their sets to Lee County.
“They (Lee County) won both sets, and they’re a powerhouse in their conference,” Larsen concluded. “But it was good to play them this weekend, as we’ll see them twice in the regular season. We could have played more aggressive, but I understand the girls were tired from a long day of scrimmaging. They did just as I asked, and we cleared up on some mistakes.”
Richmond will host non-conference opponent Uwharrie Charter Tuesday, with the junior varsity team, also coached by Larsen, kicking things off at 4:30 p.m. The varsity team will start shortly afterward, at approximately 5:30 p.m.
The Lady Raiders will also host Anson High School, another non-conference opponent, on Wednesday, Aug. 15, with the same starting times.
