Lady Flyers Finish Florida Tournament on a High Note

A pioneering Sandhills Community College beach volleyball team defeated Bryant and Stratton (WI) 4-1 on Friday in the fifth place match of the AVCA Small College Beach Volleyball Championships in Tavares, FL.

The Lady Flyers pairs of No. 1 Lexi Allen and L'Asia Jackson, No. 3 Camryn Lowe and Kaitlyn Locklear, No. 4 Mya Mallard and KeKe Lawrence, and No. 5 Kayla Sadowski and JaLasia Ray each won 2-0. The Flyers No. 2 of Abby Quick and Maddie Harris was defeated 2-0.

Coach Alicia Riggan's squad was defeated 5-0 by both eventual champion State College of Florida and runner-up Lake Sumter State College on Thursday. The Flyers lost 5-0 to Spartanburg Methodist early Friday leading up to the fifth place contest.

Spartanburg Methodist, a familiar foe of the Flyers this season, defeated St. Johns River State (FL) for third place.

This was the first year the event held at the 21-court Hickory Point Beach facility, that has included divisions for NCAA II and III, and NAIA, established one for junior colleges.

Six of the 16 junior colleges that currently field play beach volleyball teams countrywide competed at the potential site for a future NJCAA Championship.

The six teams were divided into two, three-team pools. The Flyers were in Pool 1 with the eventual champion and runner-up.

In the second season of the sport at Sandhills, Riggan felt her players were exposed to the next level of beach volleyball by observing the NCAA and NAIA competition, as well as, facing more experienced teams with scholarships players, many specifically recruited for beach volleyball.

The team arrived back home by bus in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

"We're proud of the way the girls competed," Riggan said by phone later on Saturday. "It was great to wrap up the tournament with a success. It was a great experience and I think the girls had a lot fun."

For Riggan and Assistant Coach Ryan Riggan, one of the adjustments was trying to provide support to their players with all five doubles competing on courts at the same time.

Something the players hadn't previously experienced was the hot sand produced by temperatures in the mid-80's.

The season continues on Thursday when the Lady Flyers travel to Laurinburg to face St. Andrews University for the third time. The coaches and players are hopeful that freshman Mackenzie Swett, who is recovering from a concussion suffered in a match a week ago, will be able to rejoin the team. 

C. Bergmann