CAMERON — Trying to bolster its resume for the postseason, the Richmond Senior High School volleyball team couldn’t complete an early upset Monday.
Beginning the Sandhills Athletic Conference championship tournament on the road, the No. 6 Lady Raiders lost 3-0 to No. 3 Union Pines High School.
Although it was a competitive match, Richmond made the opening-round exit behind scores of 19-25, 21-25 and 24-26.
In three matches this season against the Lady Vikings, the Lady Raiders failed to win a set.
A positive that came away from Monday was the announcement of two Lady Raiders making the 2024 All-Sandhills Athletic Conference team.
Senior setter Ava Edmondson was chosen for the second time in as many seasons, while sophomore libero Kenley Smith earned her first career accolade.
“The girls came out with some fire tonight,” head coach Ashleigh Larsen said. “We made a few little mistakes but we also were able to capitalize on some of their errors early on which was cool. The girls were able to celebrate more, be excited and played more relaxed tonight.
“I told the team that I wish I’d seen more of that this season, but I’m glad it showed up tonight. We could have done a few things here or there to get it back together, but all in all, I’m very pleased with how the girls played.”
The opening set featured 11 ties, the final one coming at 16-16. Just before the Lady Vikings tied it up, Richmond went on a 3-0 run.
Down two points, sophomore Madisen Jackson started the stretch of scoring with a push to the back right corner of the court that landed for a point. Junior J’Nasia Neal followed with a kill from the outside position and a Union Pines error gave Richmond a one-point lead.
A 7-0 run by the Lady Vikings shifted the set in their favor, 22-16. Another 3-0 burst of scoring by the Lady Raiders saw a trio of errors by Union Pines with Neal at the service line make it a three-point deficit.
Despite another point from Jackson and a service error, Richmond couldn’t take the early lead.
Trailing 5-1 to start the second set, kills from sophomore Rylie McDonald and Kaylan Parsons, coupled with an ace from Edmondson cut it to a one-point deficit.
Finding themselves down 10-4, the Lady Raiders got back into the mix with a 5-0 run. Two errors by Union Pines were aided by kills from McDonald and Neal, along with an ace from sophomore Kalynn McCormick.
The momentum continued to change possession in the second, as Union Pines took a 16-12 lead. Answering with a 6-0 run, Richmond got the ball back following a kill by junior Ka’mora Watkins.
Smith went to the line and dished out an ace. Two miscues by the Lady Vikings and a pair of kills from McDonald on back-to-back volleys gave the Lady Raiders an 18-16 lead.
But Richmond’s steam ran out as the Lady Vikings closed the second stanza on a 9-1 run to increase their match lead.
Richmond continued to battle and remained competitive in the third set, using a series of small runs to knot the score at six and 10 points. Neal made a block at the net for a loud point, which gave Richmond a 12-8 advantage and forced a timeout.
Returning from the pause in action, Union Pines went on a 6-0 spurt that shifted the lead for good. Down the stretch, the Lady Raiders used a McDonald kill and back-to-back blocks by Neal and Jackson to cut the lead to 21-18.
Down 24-21, Neal went to the service line and was able to extend the match another three points. Two errors were the result of her serves and junior Carleigh Gibson made a diving dig over the net that recorded the other point to tie it 24-24.
The Lady Vikings (14-7), however, won the next two points to end the match.
The Lady Raiders’ regular season came to an end with a 7-14 overall record, including a 3-9 record against SAC teams.
Larsen and the team will await the release of the NCHSAA’s 4A playoff brackets Sunday. Richmond is expected to be a bubble team this year.
“We’re in right now but we’ll find out Sunday,” Larsen said. “I’ll update the girls day by day since we’re in the bubble area. It all depends what else happens around us.
“Tonight prepared us because Union Pines’ play was good and we’ll need all the experience we can get if we go to one of the higher seeds,” she closed. “We will enjoy this break, rest up some injuries and wait for the brackets.”
Sports editor’s note: The Richmond Observer will publish an All-SAC article later this week complete with quotes from Edmondson and Smith.
