ROCKINGHAM — Any time the Richmond and Scotland volleyball teams play, fans can expect a battle to the end.
Tuesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference match between the Lady Raiders and the Fighting Scots was no different, as both teams fulfilled the rivalry hype. Despite a concentrated effort by Richmond, the Lady Raiders fell in straight sets.
Richmond dropped by set scores of 17-25, 17-25 and 21-25. The match closed the first round of conference play, with the Lady Raiders holding at a 3-4 record.
Head coach Ashleigh Larsen noted the scores weren’t indicative of how well the Lady Raiders played, and said she was proud of her team’s fight against the second-place Fighting Scots.
“The first thing I told them after the game was that all three coaches discussed how proud we were to see them come together and play so aggressive tonight,” Larse said. “Every girl played with a little more umph in their step.
“We had leads early on in each of the sets, and the girls didn’t give up on each other,” she continued. “There were a few mistakes, but they shook it off and didn’t get down in a hole. The girls see the loss as the biggest thing, but I was so pleased with how tough they played.”
An ace and a back-row kill from senior Taylor Chappell, coupled with a kill from senior Georgia Grace Anderson, gave Richmond a 10-7 lead in the first set. The two teams battled to a 13-13 tie before a 4-0 run gave Scotland an advantage.
With the visitors leading 18-15, senior libero Emy Cooley ended a long volley with a kill from the back line that kept Richmond competitive. However, a 7-1 run by the Fighting Scots ended the first frame.
The second set saw four ties early on, with the last one knotting the set at seven points thanks to a smart tip from Anderson at the net. Two Scotland errors gave Richmond the advantage and junior Allyiah Swiney served an ace for a 10-7 lead.
Tied again at 14 points, Scotland took the second set with an 11-3 run. Senior Jakerra Covington kept Richmond’s hopes alive with a big left-handed kill, as did Anderson with a kill late in the set.
“We never thought for a second that we couldn’t win tonight,” Covington said. “We are just as good as Scotland and we came into tonight knowing what we had to do. There were a couple of mistakes throughout the match that stopped us from doing that.
“My job tonight was to try and get our team fired up,” she added. “I wanted to help my team the best I could, so when I was at the net, I took every opportunity to get a spike and put points on the board.”
Richmond jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the third set, using kills from Anderson and Covington, as well as an ace from Chappell. Scotland flipped the switch with a 5-1 run and took a 12-9 lead.
Senior Kelly Hoffman, who had a strong night swinging at the net, registered a kill and a tip from Swiney helped start a 4-0 Richmond spurt. Both teams battled to a 20-20 tie, the last point coming on a Hoffman kill.
Despite calling a timeout and another timely kill from Covington, Richmond couldn’t overcome a 5-1 stretch by Scotland.
“This is our biggest rivalry and it was a win we would have liked to have gotten,” Hoffman said. “Now we need to reset everything and get ready for the next round of conference play.”
Anderson and Hoffman both finished with a team-high seven kills, with Covington adding five, four of which came in the third set. As a team, Richmond had five aces, three from the hand of Chappell.
Senior setter Shelly Hoffman collected 23 assists in the loss.
Richmond’s defense tallied 56 total digs and Cooley led the way with 23, including 11 in the opening set. Kelly Hoffman chipped in 10 digs, while Shelly Hoffman and Swiney added nine and eight, respectively.
“Taylor had her best game of the season on offense and defense,” Larsen said. “She had a hard task of covering the line, but she swung the hardest she has all season and made good serves.
“Kelly, Georgia Grace and Jakerra all had good hits and tips, and Emy had a lot of good digs. The group effort was there tonight.”
With half the regular season in the books, the Lady Raiders (3-4, 3-4 SAC) sit in fifth place in the conference standings. When the second round of SAC play starts Thursday at home against Purnell Swett High School (1-6, 1-6 SAC), Larsen said it’s time for her players to shine.
“During round one of play, we’ve progressively gotten better,” the coach said. “This is the downside of not having non-conference games, so we’ve had each game to get better and more aggressive.
“The girls are building momentum, and now we can come together and play a better second half. If we use our aggressive play to steer us in the right direction, we should continue to get wins.”
