ROCKINGHAM — A fast start and a strong finish Thursday helped the Richmond Senior High School volleyball team stay undefeated in conference play.
Taking a two-set lead against Jack Britt High School, the Lady Raiders survived a comeback attempt to earn a 3-2 victory.
Richmond won the first and second sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-18 before charging back in the decisive fifth with a 15-12 win.
Holding off the Lady Buccaneers, who won the third and fourth sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-20, Richmond improved to 2-0 against Mid-South Conference opponents.
An early deficit in the first set saw Richmond get behind 12-10. A back row kill from junior Kenley Smith and a block by junior Riley McDonald in the middle knotted the score. Richmond and Jack Britt went back and forth, tying again at 13 and 14 points.
Breaking that tie was junior Kaylan Parsons at the service line. She rattled off three consecutive aces that began a 6-0 scoring run to put the Lady Raiders ahead for good in the first set.
McDonald had the next two points on a kill and a block, and coupled with a Jack Britt error, Richmond took a 19-14 lead.
Leading 21-17, McDonald and senior J’Nasia Neal combined for the final four points to end the set. McDonald sandwiched a pair of kills around back-to-back aces from Neal.
The second stanza was similar to the first in that Richmond used a scoring run in the middle of it to distance itself. A kill from Parsons sparked a five-point stretch that gave the Lady Raiders a 15-7 lead.
This time it was Smith who was dialed in at the service line, darting two aces over the net to open the lead. McDonald also had a kill.
Senior Ka’mora Watkins joined the scoring parade with a tip and a kill from the left side to put Richmond ahead 20-13. Richmond’s final five points came on two errors, a McDonald tip, a bump from the back row by junior Ava Edwards and another McDonald spike to the hardwood.
The third set started with both teams trading points to a 4-4 tie. Richmond got into a lull that it couldn’t dig out of, and a long stretch of scoring led to a 22-11 deficit.
The Lady Raiders fought back to score six points on the next eight volleys, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
Richmond opened the fourth set down 10-3. Head coach Ashleigh Larsen called a timeout and a rally started for the Lady Raiders, who answered with their own 10-3 run to knot the score at 13 points.
Tied again 16-16, Jack Britt (3-7, 0-2 MSC) closed on a 9-4 stretch to knot the overall match score at two sets apiece.
The Lady Buccaneers controlled the tempo early in the fifth and took a 6-5 lead, which resulted in a Richmond timeout. The Lady Raiders tied the score 6-6 out of the break thanks to a McDonald kill.
Breaking a 7-7 tie was a kill by junior Lillian Hill, which was followed by a Jack Britt hitting error and a timeout for the visitors. Later tied at 11 points, McDonald hit one home to give the Lady Raiders the lead for good and force another Jack Britt timeout.
Winning three of the final four rallies, Richmond clinched the match win on three kills from McDonald, including the final point, as well as a kill from Neal.
The Lady Raiders (8-3, 2-0 MSC) return to the court Tuesday on the road at Hoke County High School (11-2, 2-0). The MSC match will begin at 6:30 p.m.
JV Lady Raiders swept by Jack Britt
The junior varsity volleyball team wasn’t able to stay undefeated in conference play Thursday.
Also at home against Jack Britt, the JV Lady Raiders lost in straight sets 2-0. Scores were 16-25 and 22-25.
Trailing 11-20 in the second set, the JV Lady Raiders made a strong case to win the set. With freshman Alley Crouch at the service line, Richmond cut its deficit to 17-20. Crouch had two aces during that span.
With the match point on the line, freshman Yicel Lopez sparked a 4-0 run. Using two hitting errors and two Lopez aces, Richmond made it 22-24. Jack Britt ended the match on the next volley.
The JV Lady Raiders (5-6, 1-1MSC) will also play at Hoke County Tuesday. First serve will go up at 5 p.m.
