Defensive play sets tone in win over Montgomery Central

TROY — Facing a team Tuesday that has given them some problems the past two seasons, the Lady Raiders made quick work to stay in the win column.

Continuing its string of non-conference mathches to start the season, the Richmond Senior High School volleyball team defeated Montgomery Central High School on the road.

Taking the match 3-1, set scores were 25-23, 23-25, 25-20 and 25-18.

Head coach Ashleigh Larsen said Richmond played well for having not played in nearly a week, while contending with a “very scrappy” Lady Timberwolves roster.

“They were very scrappy tonight,” Larsen explained. “And I think that is a testament to their middle blocker Madison Henderson. She played very intelligently in the middle and had a big block. She also hit around our blocks and played back row, which is something I don’t remember her doing in our previous matches.

“Montgomery Central was a challenging team,” she added. “We made some mistakes like missing serves and not playing as aggressively as we could at times.”

While the offense was able to take care of business, Larsen noted that “defensively, we played lights out and that really helped us tonight.”

Improving to 3-1 on the season, the Lady Raiders will close out their second week of play with a home match Thursday. Richmond will host non-conference Uwharrie Charter Academy (7-1) at 6 p.m.

“It’s good to stay in the win column and now we have to prepare for Thursday against a pretty good Uwharrie Charter team,” Larsen closed.

Thursday’s match will take place during Richmond’s open house for the new school year.

JV volleyball returns to win column

After just falling short in its last match played last Wednesday, the Richmond junior varsity volleyball team got back in the win column.

Also playing at Montgomery Central Tuesday, the JV Lady Raiders earned a 2-0 sweep. Set scores were 25-23 and 25-16.

“The girls were a little slow getting going because of the early start time, but they made some great and smart plays at the net,” head coach Melissa Dennis said.

“They were very aggressive and I was excited to see them feel confident in themselves to be that aggressive.”

The JV Lady Raiders (2-1) will also host Uwharrie Charter Academy Thursday at 5 p.m.

Sports editor’s note: No other stats were available at the time of publication.