SENIOR SENDOFF: Lady Raiders erase two-set deficit against Lee County

ROCKINGHAM — It wasn’t how the Richmond Senior High School volleyball team started Thursday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference match, but how it finished it instead that counted.

With several players and head coach Ashleigh Larsen citing a supportive home crowd, the Lady Raiders erased a two-set deficit to defeat Lee County High School 3-2.

Making the comeback victory even sweeter was celebrating the team’s three senior players on senior night — Ava Edmondson, Sharonda Henderson and Abby Wellman.

After dropping the first two sets by close scores of 23-25 and 21-25, the Lady Raiders put the momentum in their favor to roll 25-19, 26-24 and 15-9.

The win helped Richmond even the two-match season series with the Lady Yellow Jackets (11-7, 5-5 SAC).

Late in the first set, a kill by Edmondson followed by an ace from junior J’Nasia Neal tied the score at 20 points. Edmondson and sophomore Madisen Jackson blocked a shot two volleys later to tie it again 21-21.

Lee County closed on a 4-2 run to take a one-set lead despite a tip by sophomore Riley McDonald and an Edmondson ace.

Trailing 11-15 in the second stanza, Larsen called a timeout. The pause in action helped some, seeing the two teams split the next 14 points evenly.

But Richmond found itself down 2-0 when it couldn’t stop the Lady Yellow Jackets from winning three of the final five points.

Raider Magic reared its head at the start of the third set as sophomore Kenley Smith served Richmond to a 9-0 lead. She had three aces in the first five points and junior Ka’mora Watkins tacked on a pair of kills.

Two more kills from Watkins extended the lead to 12-2, but Lee County closed the deficit to a 14-11 Richmond lead, which led to a timeout.

A pair of kills from Neal, a tip by Jackson and back-to-back aces from Smith contributed to a 20-14 advantage and a Lee County timeout. Down the stretch, several errors by the visitors and an Edmondson kill bolstered Richmond’s lead.

With sophomore Kaylan Parsons at the service line, the Lady Raiders used a kill from Neal to keep the match alive.

The fourth stanza was a back-and-forth battle between both teams. An Edmondson ace and bump from Smith made it an early 3-1 lead.

Neal later tied the set at 10 points with an attack from the outside spot, but Lee County used a small run to take a 13-10 lead. Larsen called a timeout.

With quick hands, Edmondson made an athletic knock over the net while running the opposite direction. That point, coupled with a hitting error, pulled Richmond within a point 14-15 and forced a timeout.

A block by Edmondson was later followed by a boomer from McDonald at the middle of the floor. On the next rally, the Lady Yellow Jackets went into the net to even the score 22-22.

Down 22-24, the Lady Raiders used a service error, a McDonald kill and another net violation to win in extra points and force a decisive fifth set.

Consecutive players in the net by Lee County on the first two sequences gave Richmond a 2-0 lead and set the tone. Kills from McDonald and Watkins later tied the score at three and four points, respectively.

Two errors by the visitors and an ace from sophomore Kalynn McCormick put Richmond ahead 7-3. Later, a Neal kill and a big block by Jackson extended the advantage to 9-5 and resulted in Lee County’s second timeout of the set.

Building momentum, another Neal kill and an ace from Parsons grew the lead to 12-6. Richmond captured its final three points on a net violation, a Jackson kill and a service error.

Richmond (7-12, 3-8 SAC) has a week off before it closes its regular season at Scotland High School next Thursday. First serve will go off at 6 p.m.

JV Lady Raiders sweep Lee County

Also avenging a loss from earlier in the season to Lee County, the Richmond junior varsity volleyball team was all business Thursday.

On their home court, the JV Lady Raiders returned the 2-0 sweep victory behind scores of 25-19 and 29-27.

With several chances to close the second set, Richmond broke a 27-27 tie and won the match thanks to a kill from sophomore Addison Butler and a Lee County service error.

“I have been waiting all season to watch them play like that,” head coach Melissa Dennis said. “We made some mistakes but they never got defeated.

“The girls responded well to adjustments and were very aggressive. I enjoyed watching them come together as a team to finish strong.”

The JV Lady Raiders (8-10, 5-6 SAC) conclude their season next Thursday at Scotland. The match will begin at 5 p.m.