ROCKINGHAM — Strong play at the middle of the net, coupled with timely serving, helped the Lady Raider volleyball team return to the win column on Thursday.
Snapping its seven-match losing streak, Richmond defeated Hoke County High School 3-0 in straight sets. It was the second time this season the Lady Raiders defeated the Lady Bucks.
Richmond controlled the tempo from the start to win by set scores of 25-17, 25-9 and 25-16.
“The girls knew they needed to find some way to win, and nothing against Hoke, but we were able to use their mistakes and capitalize to get back in the win column,” head coach Ashleigh Larsen said.
“Catherine (Dennis) and Katie (Way) had a big game tonight because they were super aggressive,” she added of the two middle hitters. “They were able to hit around the blocks and take some over passes and send them back Hoke’s way. They talked a lot more and their movement was better.”
Larsen noted that the team worked on breaking down positions at practice on Wednesday, which allowed the Lady Raiders to have better timing against Hoke County (1-14, 0-9 Sandhills Athletic Conference).
A couple of early runs put the Lady Raiders up 13-5 in the first set, but Hoke County answered with a 4-1 stretch to pull within five points. Dennis delivered two kills on the next three volleys, and added an ace, which helped open Richmond’s lead to 20-13.
Down the stretch in the opening frame, a couple of Lady Bucks errors and kills from senior Saniah Durham and Way set up the set point. A net violation ended the first set 25-17.
Senior Allyiah Swiney and Way helped Richmond begin the second set on an 11-4 run. Swiney had a kill and an ace, while Way found the floor with two kills.
A serving error by Hoke County made it a 14-7 lead, which started a 9-0 spurt from the Lady Raiders to break it open. Dennis scored the second point with a kill, which was then followed by four consecutive aces by Way.
Dennis picked up a block at the net and another kill, and closing the set win was an ace from freshman Ava Edmondson and bump into open space by sophomore Emma Altman.
Junior middle hitter Catherine Dennis delivers a kill in the second set of Thursday’s win. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
“It feels great to be back in the win column,” Way said. “Our communication was a lot better and our enthusiasm was up, which helped us overall as a team.
“Those four aces were really a big momentum shift for us,” she added. “Catherine and I had really good sets from Ava, and every time we got a good swing, our teammates were there to make us want to do it again.”
The third set opened with a kill from Dennis, and three kills and a tip from Way put Richmond up 10-4. Another Dennis kill and a shot from Durham on the outside extended the Lady Raiders’ lead to eight points.
Several errors by Hoke County contributed to the final set win, and Dennis and Way each collected one more kill apiece. Sophomore Jenna Gardner served an ace to make it 20-14, and a couple of plays later, junior Quston Leviner delivered a kill that was blocked out of bounds to seal the victory.
“I told the girls if we could minimize our missed serves and if we could be aggressive when we serve, we could score a lot of points,” Larsen said. “This is the most aggressive serving group I’ve had, and doing that well tonight definitely helped us.
“I hope we can carry this momentum over into next week and for the rest of the season,” she added. “The girls know they can play better than what our record is, and we just need to continue to find that last little push in each match.”
Richmond (4-12, 3-6 SAC) will return to action next Tuesday with a home match against Union Pines High School (14-3, 6-2 SAC). Play will begin around 6 p.m.
JV Lady Raiders fall in two sets
The Richmond junior varsity volleyball team lost 2-0 to Hoke County on Thursday. Set scores were 13-25 and 23-25.
Head coach Melissa Dennis and the JV Lady Raiders will host Union Pines on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
