ROCKINGHAM — A slow start by the Richmond junior varsity volleyball team couldn’t be overcome Tuesday.
Returning to the court to end their two-match non-conference series with Uwharrie Charter Academy, the JV Lady Raiders suffered their second loss in as many matches.
Falling in straight sets 2-0, scores were 11-25 and 21-25.
Head coach Melissa Dennis said it took some time for the team to acclimate to the JV Lady Eagles’ attack, but improved significantly in the second stanza.
Uwharrie Charter opened the first set on a 5-0 run, which featured two aces. An error at the service line gave Richmond its first point.
Trailing 15-2 later in the set, Richmond got one of its two points in the game that wasn’t an error on the JV Lady Eagles. Sophomore Giada Terry recorded a kill following an assist by freshman setter Jasey Braddock.
Richmond’s best run of the opening set was a 5-0 stretch to cut its deficit to 19-10. It started with a service error by Uwharrie Charter and was followed by four straight errors.
The set ended on a 6-1 stretch by the visitors to put Richmond down 1-0.
A much closer second set saw the JV Lady Raiders take a 2-0 lead thanks to two miscues by the JV Lady Eagles. Two volleys later, the score was tied 2-2, one of nine ties in the second.
Richmond stayed competitive in the second thanks to several unforced errors, which led to 19 of its 21 points. One of those mistakes began a 5-0 stretch that helped Richmond tie the score at 11 points.
Freshman Sophia Legrand added an ace during the run. She later added the JV Lady Raiders’ other non-error point on a dig that sailed into open space to give the home team a 15-14 lead.
The two squads battled to ties of 16, 18 and 19 points. Back-to-back aces by Uwharrie Charter shifted the lead for good.
The JV Lady Eagles closed on a 6-2 run, with both of Richmond’s points coming off service errors.
The JV Lady Raiders (3-5) play their next match at Scotland High School Thursday. Action will start at 5 p.m.
