ROCKINGHAM — As the second round of conference play began Thursday, the Lady Raider volleyball team felt like they had a new lease on life.
Richmond stuck with it against Southern Lee High School, which ended a seven-game losing run that had been going on all season.
The Lady Raiders won 3-1 thanks to aggressive hitting at the net and good defense that helped them win.
Richmond won the sets 25–15, 24-26, 25–16, and 25–12.
The first set was tied at 10 points apiece. Richmond then went on a 6-1 run to go ahead 16-11 and call a timeout. During that time, Southern Lee made a lot of mistakes, which helped senior Ava Edmondson get an ace.
After the break, junior J’Nasia Neal hit a kill that started a 9-3 run that ended the set. It took sophomore Riley McDonald five points in a row to serve.
Junior Ka’mora Watkins, who just got back from being hurt, hit the floor with a kill to score the last point.
For most of the second set, the Lady Raiders were behind by three or four points. The center hitter hit two aces, which made the score 19–18. McDonald then tipped the ball into empty space.
When the score was tied at 23, Southern Lee (5-8, 0-7 SAC) won three of the next four points.
In the third set, the Lady Raiders sped up and quickly took a 14-3 lead. At the start of the set, sophomore Kenley Smith scored seven straight points at the service line, with kills from McDonald and Watkins.
The lead grew to 11 points after Edmondson hit an ace and McDonald and Watkins each hit two more kills.
The Lady Cavaliers came back to get within six points, 17–11. The lead grew again with an ace from Edmondson, and McDonald scored two points in a row with a block and an ace.
Richmond had the lead 23–14, but their last two points came from mistakes, including a service error that made the score 2-1.
To keep the heat on, Richmond took an early 11–6 lead in the fourth stanza, which led to a timeout.
A 16–8 run made it more likely for Richmond to win the game in the end. McDonald, Watkins, and Neal all had multiple kills, and Smith and Edmondson each had one.
Neal hit a kill to make it 23–12, and after Southern Lee made a mistake, junior Madisen Jackson made it 16–16.
The Lady Raiders (6-9, 2-5 SAC) play Pinecrest High School (10-6, 6-0 SAC) at home on Tuesday in another league match. The game will begin at 6 p.m.
JV team bashes Southern Lee
Keeping the other team to single digits The Richmond junior varsity volleyball team won again on Thursday.
Southern Lee was swept 2-0 by the JV Lady Raiders, who won by scores of 25-9 and 25-6.
Head coach Melissa Dennis said, “I’ve been telling the girls all season how important it is to keep up the momentum and energy.”
“That was something we really worked hard on tonight.” It really made a difference. They got along well and talked to each other during every play.
Tuesday at 5 p.m., Pinecrest comes to Richmond to play their JV volleyball team (7-7, 4-3 SAC).