ROCKINGHAM - Entering Tuesday’s match against Hoke County High School, the Lady Raider varsity volleyball team was looking to end a two-match Sandhills Athletic Conference rut, something that hadn’t happened against conference opponents in nearly three years.
The last time Richmond dropped back-to-back matches against then Southeastern Conference foes was Sept. 22 (Pinecrest High School, 3-0) and 24 (Scotland High School, 3-1), 2015.
But the early-season hiccup came to an end Tuesday, as the aggressive play at the net by the Lady Raiders, coupled with the help from the Lady Bucks and several errors, Richmond (5-3, 2-2 SAC) blew past Hoke County 3-0. It was the third time this season the Lady Raiders swept an opponent, the others being non-conference Anson High School (Aug. 15) and Purnell Swett High School (Aug. 23).
In a match that was never really close, head coach Ashleigh Larsen’s team defeated Hoke County (0-8, 0-4 SAC) by set scores of: 25-9, 25-7 and 25-9.
Not only did the win over the Lady Bucks even Richmond’s conference record, it also served as a confidence boost for Larsen’s players as they head into two tough matches later this week. And it afforded the Lady Raiders an opportunity to work on some new attacking approaches.
“It was good to see the girls relax and be happy with their performance throughout the whole game,” Larsen said after the win. “It’s a good start to a big week, and I’m glad we could get the W.
“This definitely helps boost our confidence,” she added. “All of the girls got to play tonight, even the ones who don’t play on a regular basis. We got to run some different things tonight that we’ve been working on in practice, and thanks to some good passes, we were able to get good results.”
Over the past couple of practices, Larsen and company have been working on some new attack strategies, and the Lady Raiders used a “couple of stacks” in the first set to set the tempo. According to Larsen, a stack is when the middle hitter goes in for a quick hit, while the outside hitter comes around for a hit in the middle. Going up together, both players have the opportunity to make a play on the ball.
Seniors Savannah Lampley (12) and Savannah Chappell (10) go up in a stack in the first set.
Heading into the match against the Lady Bucks, senior outside hitter Savannah Lampley was leading all SAC players with a .386 kill percentage, and was ranked in the top four with kills (72) and kills per set (3.0). She brought the hammer on Hoke County, as she tallied five kills, and added one ace and four digs on defense.
But having the best night of any Lady Raider was sophomore middle hitter Georgia Grace Anderson. Having a solid first season at the varsity level, Anderson tallied a match-high nine kills in the win, and picked Richmond’s only two blocks on the night. Her best set was the first one, as she slammed home five kills and made a couple of blocks.
“Georgia Grace helped us out tonight in the first set by getting some big blocks at the net,” Larsen said of her middle hitter. “She helped us by not having to dig as many balls when she was hitting them right back over. She ran some slides and quicks, and her volleyball smarts helped a lot tonight.”
In the opening set, a Carley Lambeth ace began the match, which in turn started a 10-2 Richmond run to jump out to a fast lead. In that stretch, junior libero Layne Maultsby served up a set-high five aces, as she finished with six on the night. Junior outside hitter Jadyn Johnson had one kill in the opening 12 points, and Anderson added a block.
After an ace by Hoke County’s Veronique Woodson stopped the bleeding, Larsen’s squad bounced back with a big 12-0 run to ice the cake in the first set. Anderson started the run with a kill at the net, and would add three more and a block before the run ended. Junior right side hitter Allexis Swiney also served well, picking up two aces.
Up 23-9, another monster kill by Anderson, followed by a Lady Bucks’ violation, made it 25-9.
After switching sides of the court, the Lady Raiders wasted no time getting after Hoke County in the second set. Tied at two, a 6-0 Richmond run made it 8-2, which was accompanied by kills by Johnson and senior middle hitter Savannah Chappell.
Larsen began subbing players with more frequency, as underclassmen Taylor Chappell, Emy Cooley, Jasmine Ewing and Madison Jordan got more playing time. A 5-0 run in the middle of the set put the Lady Raiders up 13-3, with Anderson adding one of her three kills in the set, and Johnson made a nice tip on the ball into no-man’s land.
Down the stretch, Ewing would pick up her first varsity ace, and Lampley found her stride by drilling three kills. Lambeth rang true from the serving line up 24-7 with an ace to close out the second set. As a team, Richmond had 13 aces on the night, with five of them coming in the second frame.
In the third and final set, Richmond’s attack forced Hoke County to make several digging and ball handling errors. A 5-0 run put the Lady Raiders up 12-3, and Larsen’s team mustered another big run, this one an 11-4 stint, to end the two-game losing streak. Taylor Chappell had two aces in the third set, while Lampley rounded out her night with two more kills.
Stat totals on the night were impressive for Richmond, as Anderson finished with nine kills, two blocks and an ace. Lampley had five kills, four digs and an ace, with Maultsby doing solid work out of the back row, tallying 8 digs and six aces.
Johnson kept the Richmond attack honest with five kills and five digs of her own, and Lambeth dished out 28 assists on top of her two aces and two digs.
Richmond is back in action the next two nights, as it’ll travel to tough non-conference Lee County High School Wednesday (6 p.m.), before wrapping up on the road at SAC foe Lumberton High School Thursday (6 p.m.).
Lee County (3-2, 3A Tri-County Conference) hosted Richmond and several other regional teams in a preseason scrimmage at the beginning of August, and edged the green and gold in the two scrimmage sets played. The night after the Lady Raiders lost to Pinecrest last week, the Lady Yellow Jackets stung the Lady Patriots in straight sets.
Lumberton, on the other hand, is off to a fast 6-1, 2-1 SAC start, which should prove to be a competitive match for Larsen and company.
“Wednesday’s match against Lee County is everything,” Larsen concluded. “They beat Pinecrest right after Pinecrest beat us -- we’re always in competition with them, and they have some quality players this year. It’d be a huge morale booster to beat them heading into Lumberton to end the week.”
Note: In junior varsity action Tuesday, the Richmond squad got back in the winning column after also dropping two straight to Pinecrest and Jack Britt last week. The Lady Raiders swept Hoke County in two sets 25-12 and 25-13.
Trailing 10-2 in the second set, Larsen (also the junior varsity coach) called a timeout, and the JV Lady Raiders rallied to finish the set on a 23-3 run.
Sophomore Jakerra Covington finished the night with seven aces, five kills and one dig, while fellow sophomore Kelly Hoffman had two aces and one kill. Rounding out the attack was freshman Kierston Gibson with two aces.
