ROCKINGHAM — After seeing victory slip away in each of its three matches this season, the junior varsity Lady Raider volleyball team finally secured its first win Tuesday.
Hosting Hoke County High School, Richmond survived a mid-match scare to win in three sets, 2-1. It was the fourth time in as many matches this season that the JV team went to a decisive set.
Thanks to the strong hand of freshman middle hitter Katie Way and effective serving from sophomore Joy Styles, the Lady Raiders won by set scores of 25-22, 18-25 and 15-5.
“It feels really great to get a win,” head coach Melissa Dennis said. “I’m glad that these girls now know that feeling and hope they go after it.
“Every game, Katie gets more confident and more aggressive. She can adjust easily and that shows in her playing, and she’s stepping up vocally as well. Joy has really come through for us with serving. She is consistent and aggressive and is constantly moving the ball around.”
To open the first set, Richmond rolled out to a 6-0 lead. Styles had an ace, one of her team-high five aces on the night, and freshman Emma Altman added a point at the net.
Hoke responded with a 10-3 run to get ahead by one point, and Dennis called a timeout to rally her team. After both squads battled to a 14-14 tie, a hitting error by Hoke County sparked a 7-2 rush from the Lady Raiders.
Styles and Altman each had an ace in the stretch, while Way made a smart push at the net to find open space. A couple of errors by the Lady Bucks handed Richmond the opening-set win.
Way, who led Richmond with a career-high seven kills, started the second set with back-to-back kills. She added another for Richmond’s eighth point of the set, part of a 9-1 run to open the frame.
Following a Hoke County timeout, the Lady Bucks shifted the momentum and went on a 13-0 run to take a 14-9 lead. Richmond would trail by as many as five points three different times and couldn’t recover in the second.
Sophomore Joy Styles serves the ball during the third set of Richmond’s win.
“It feels really great to finally get our first win,” Way said. “It’s nice to finally pull through. The first few losses really pulled us together as a team and made our communication better.
“We had good passes and sets tonight, which allowed me to get in some good swings.”
After struggling in the second set, Dennis’ message was clear to her players ahead of the third: find the fight and finish the match as a team.
“I told the girls that the fight had to come from them,” she explained. “I really took a step back and told them to talk to each other.
“They were really receptive to me and their teammates. I was proud to have them respond the way they did.”
Richmond listened and commanded the third set from the start. Behind three more kills from Way and three aces from Styles, the Lady Raiders opened the third on a 10-0 stretch. Altman added a tip at the net to extend the lead.
Hoke wouldn’t go away quietly, rallying to earn five points let in the set. Freshman Makailah Jackson used her height in the middle to tip a ball to set up the match point. Following a long volley, a Hoke County hitting error ended the match.
Freshman libero Allie Rodgers led the team with 10 digs, and Styles and freshman Jenna Gardner each had four assists. Altman had two aces.
The JV Lady Raiders (1-3, 1-3 SAC) will enjoy Thanksgiving break before traveling to Lumberton High School on Tuesday, Dec. 1. First serve is set for 5 p.m.
