RAEFORD — The Richmond Senior High School volleyball team returned to the win column Tuesday after enjoying a nearly two-week break.
Back on the court for the first time since Dec. 17, the Lady Raiders completed the regular-season sweep against Hoke County High School. Richmond took care of the Lady Bucks in straight sets, winning 3-0.
Head coach Ashleigh Larsen’s team won by set scores of 25-14, 25-15 and 25-20. The Lady Raiders (5-6) also swept Hoke County (0-11) in the teams’ first meeting on Nov. 24.
Larsen said the holiday break was good in letting her players reset, but added it took Richmond a while to warm up on Tuesday.
“It was tough to get in swing of things and both of our teams were slow in practice (on Monday),” she said. “The time off was good for them to relax and regroup, and they eventually got it going tonight.
“The gym was very hot and it was difficult for the girls to adjust,” she added. “It was hard to catch our breath, literally. But we made some smart plays and eliminated our errors. We didn't miss a lot of serves and we capitalized on Hoke’s mistakes and free balls they gave us.”
Senior middle hitters Georgia Grace Anderson and Jakerra Covington both led the Lady Raiders with eight kills each, with senior outside hitter Kelly Hoffman adding seven kills in the win.
Junior Allyiah Swiney recorded five kills, and seniors Taylor Chappell and Shelly Hoffman contributed three and four kills, respectively.
Richmond also had a good night from the serving line and collected seven aces as a team. Kelly Hoffman notched a team-high three aces. Shelly Hoffman, the team’s setter, dished out 34 assists to set up the front row’s scoring attack.
On defense, senior libero Emy Cooley fell right back in the grove of things with a team-high 19 digs. Chappell was also impressive, putting up nine digs. Anderson and Kelly Hoffman finished the match with four digs each.
“It was a pretty good team outing once we figured things out,” Larsen said. “Everyone had a pretty good night, and Emy had another good game defensively with a lot of saves on digs and passes.
“Our middles also had a lot of big swings. Jakerra had a lot of wide-open hits and GGA adjusted to some of their sets and found the floor.”
Larsen said she was pleased with Richmond’s serving, noting the team only missed four serves during the match. She added that Chappell did well from the serving line.
The Lady Raiders will have a quick turnaround and play at home Wednesday against Lumberton High School (6-5). A win would knot the two teams for fourth place in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings.
Richmond was swept in a road match against the Lady Pirates on Dec. 1. Action will get underway after the junior varsity match.
