PLAYOFF PREVIEW: Larsen says rigorous schedule helpful to No. 30 Lady Raiders

ROCKINGHAM — The bubble didn’t burst for the Richmond Senior High volleyball team when the state playoff brackets were released Sunday evening.

The Lady Raiders went from being a fringe team to a definite postseason squad when brackets went final, returning them to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A state playoffs for the third straight season.

As one of the final teams to sneak into the 4A East playoffs, Richmond earned the No. 30 seed and will face No. 3 Green Level High School in the opening round.

Each of the past two seasons, the Lady Raiders have earned comparable bids, landing at the No. 29 seed both times.

The NCHSAA uses a team’s rating percentage index (RPI) to determine playoff seeding. RPI is calculated using a formula that combines a team’s winning percentage, its opponents’ winning percentage and its opponents’ opponents winning percentage.

The Lady Raiders (7-14) were the 29th team in the final 4A East rankings with an RPI of 0.50217. The Lady Gators (20-2) were third with an RPI of 0.70316.

Head coach Ashleigh Larsen, who has led the program to the state playoffs in five of her seven seasons, pointed to the team’s unwillingness to give up despite not putting up as strong of a record this season.

“I’m proud of the girls for battling all season no matter what team we faced,” Larsen said. “Our record doesn’t show the growth the girls have made from where we started over the summer to where we are now. All of the girls have worked hard to earn this spot in the state playoffs.”

With the quick turnaround from Sunday’s release of the brackets to Tuesday’s first round playoff game, Larsen said she’s going to get all the information she can on Green Level.

Using what statistics and video are available online, Larsen plans to use that information to help the Lady Raiders “be as prepared as possible.”

“I know Green Level plays in a competitive conference and always seems to be at the top of the rankings in state playoffs,” Larsen explained. “They are an aggressive and smart team, so we’ll have to be ready for that.”

Green Level, which is coached by Alston Godbold, finished its season with a 20-2 overall record. Competing in the Southwest Wake Conference, the Lady Gators took first place with a 14-0 record.

All six of the other schools in the SWC — Apex, Apex Friendship, Cary, Holly Springs, Middle Creek and Panther Creek — each made the 4A state playoffs this year.

Entering the postseason on an 18-match winning streak, the Lady Gators’ two losses came early in the season to top-seeded Chapel Hill High School and No. 5 Cardinal Gibbons High School.

Richmond enters the playoffs after a sixth-place finish in the Sandhills Athletic Conference, a two-spot drop from last fall. Of their 72 total sets played this season, Richmond has won just 23 of them.

Complete individual season statistics for Green Level were not available on MaxPreps at the time of publication.

While the Lady Gators appear to be the favored team on paper, Larsen said Richmond’s upset bid hinges on the Lady Raiders’ ability to use their experience from this season to compete against one of the top teams in the state.

“The girls will need to show up and play like I know they can,” Larsen shared. “They have seen aggressive teams this season and all of that comes to a head now. Programs we have faced have the same playing style.

“I don’t know of any common opponents that we face, but if our girls come with confidence and that grit that they have, I know they can make it competitive,” she closed. “They showed that last season at Gray’s Creek.”

No. 30 Richmond and No. 3 Green Level will begin Tuesday’s first round playoff game at 7 p.m. The winner will play the advancing team between No. 14 Heritage and No. 19 Hoke County high schools.