ROCKINGHAM — Starting the “Top Sports Stories” series is a trip to Raider Gymnasium with the Richmond Senior High School volleyball team.
In early October, the Lady Raiders were in the hunt to make the state playoffs and their match against Lee County High School proved to be a major helper in achieving that goal.
On senior night, the program recognized its three seniors ahead of the match — Ava Edmondson, Sharonda Henderson and Abby Wellman.
All of the pre-match excitement was only surpassed when the Lady Raiders dug in after losing the first two sets and rallied to earn a 3-2 victory.
Winning the final sets by scores of 25-19, 26-24 and 15-9, Richmond gave its senior players a night to remember while also avenging a 3-0 loss to the Lady Yellow Jackets earlier in the season.
Helping get the comeback started in the third set was sophomore libero Kenley Smith, who served nine straight points, including three aces, to give Richmond a big lead.
The Lady Raiders also overcame a 22-24 deficit in the fourth set. Getting those three points were a service error, a kill by sophomore Riley McDonald and a net violation.
Sophomores Kalynn McCormick (ace) and Madisen Jackson (block), along with junior J’Nasia Neal (kill), contributed to a 7-3 run to start the fifth set.
A couple of more miscues by Lee County, paired with a kill from Jackson secured the win as the gym erupted in celebration.
The victory was the final one of the regular season for Richmond, which was enough to get the Lady Raiders into the NCHSAA 4A East state playoffs.
Relive the exciting match by reading the complete article from Oct. 3, 2024, below:
SENIOR SENDOFF: Lady Raiders erase two-set deficit against Lee County
ROCKINGHAM — It wasn’t how the Richmond Senior High School volleyball team started Thursday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference match, but how it finished it instead that counted.
With several players and head coach Ashleigh Larsen citing a supportive home crowd, the Lady Raiders erased a two-set deficit to defeat Lee County High School 3-2.
Making the comeback victory even sweeter was celebrating the team’s three senior players on senior night — Ava Edmondson, Sharonda Henderson and Abby Wellman.
PHOTOS: Click here to view photos of Richmond volleyball’s senior night.
After dropping the first two sets by close scores of 23-25 and 21-25, the Lady Raiders put the momentum in their favor to roll 25-19, 26-24 and 15-9.
The win helped Richmond even the two-match season series with the Lady Yellow Jackets (11-7, 5-5 SAC).
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Late in the first set, a kill by Edmondson followed by an ace from junior J’Nasia Neal tied the score at 20 points. Edmondson and sophomore Madisen Jackson blocked a shot two volleys later to tie it again 21-21.
Lee County closed on a 4-2 run to take a one-set lead despite a tip by sophomore Riley McDonald and an Edmondson ace.
Trailing 11-15 in the second stanza, Larsen called a timeout. The pause in action helped some, seeing the two teams split the next 14 points evenly.
But Richmond found itself down 2-0 when it couldn’t stop the Lady Yellow Jackets from winning three of the final five points.
Raider Magic reared its head at the start of the third set as sophomore Kenley Smith served Richmond to a 9-0 lead. She had three aces in the first five points and junior Ka’mora Watkins tacked on a pair of kills.
Two more kills from Watkins extended the lead to 12-2, but Lee County closed the deficit to a 14-11 Richmond lead, which led to a timeout.
A pair of kills from Neal, a tip by Jackson and back-to-back aces from Smith contributed to a 20-14 advantage and a Lee County timeout. Down the stretch, several errors by the visitors and an Edmondson kill bolstered Richmond’s lead.
With sophomore Kaylan Parsons at the service line, the Lady Raiders used a kill from Neal to keep the match alive.
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The fourth stanza was a back-and-forth battle between both teams. An Edmondson ace and bump from Smith made it an early 3-1 lead.
Neal later tied the set at 10 points with an attack from the outside spot, but Lee County used a small run to take a 13-10 lead. Larsen called a timeout.
With quick hands, Edmondson made an athletic knock over the net while running the opposite direction. That point, coupled with a hitting error, pulled Richmond within a point 14-15 and forced a timeout.
A block by Edmondson was later followed by a boomer from McDonald at the middle of the floor. On the next rally, the Lady Yellow Jackets went into the net to even the score 22-22.
Down 22-24, the Lady Raiders used a service error, a McDonald kill and another net violation to win in extra points and force a decisive fifth set.
Consecutive players in the net by Lee County on the first two sequences gave Richmond a 2-0 lead and set the tone. Kills from McDonald and Watkins later tied the score at three and four points, respectively.
Two errors by the visitors and an ace from sophomore Kalynn McCormick put Richmond ahead 7-3. Later, a Neal kill and a big block by Jackson extended the advantage to 9-5 and resulted in Lee County’s second timeout of the set.
Building momentum, another Neal kill and an ace from Parsons grew the lead to 12-6. Richmond captured its final three points on a net violation, a Jackson kill and a service error.
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