The Beach Volleyball Season Ends for the Lady Flyers on a Rainy Friday

If thoughts about the beach bring visions of the hot sun and warm ocean breezes that wasn't quite what the six beach volleyball teams experienced at the NJCAA Region 10 Championship held at Sandhills Community College on Friday.

As the No. 6 seed, the Lady Flyers needed a win in their 10 a.m. match against No. 3 Bryant and Stratton (VA) to advance to the semi-finals.  Intermittent rain and windy conditions prevailed as their season ended in a 4-1 loss.

Later Friday, No. 1 seeded Richard Bland defeated No. 2 Spartanburg Methodist 3-1 in the championship match. Both teams along with third place Gaston College qualified for the NJCAA National Championship to be held at Hickory Point Beach in Tavares, FL on April 20-22.

Three at large selections are expected to be announced on Monday to complete the 12-team field.

"It was unfortunate with today's weather," Flyers Coach Alicia Riggan said.  "We knew coming in today it was going to be up for grabs for everybody.

"The girls are cold, the temperature dropped drastically since early this morning.  Who thought we would have been wearing gloves and thermals. To focus and really stay locked in was the key point as the rain picked up as well as the wind."

The Lady Flyers were still in contention when the pair of Alyssa Maragelis and Olivia Barlowe took a 20-19 lead in a bid to tie-up their match against the pair from Bryant and Stratton.  But the Bobcat pair prevailed 24-22 to close it out.

Along with the elements, the players had to deal with heavy volleyballs.

"It got very water-logged out there," Maragelis said of the balls. "It didn't take the fun out of it, it just makes it more challenging.

"We were just trying to push through and hopefully come out with a win, but fell a little short.  For me, I know we tried our best and that's all we could give."

Many of the teams the Flyers played this spring have been made up of players exclusively committed to the beach game.  Riggan's squad played indoor and beach and have already begun workouts for the indoor season that gets underway in August.

"I definitely feel this will help us indoors with the vertical, the way we move and passing and defense in general," Barlowe said of the upside of doing both.

Riggan is proud of the team for its efforts during a spring when weather conditions overall were less than ideal.

 "They're competitors for sure," she said, "and it was exciting to see some good volleyball today.  And they can start their Easter break a little early."

Maragelis and Barlowe are two of seven freshmen slated to return for the indoor season.

"This wasn't the outcome we wanted, but it was definitely a fun season," Maragelis said. "Now we're excited to get back indoors and beach next season as well."

Bryant and Stratton 4, Sandhills 1 – Fields/Huneycutt (SCC) 17-21 10-21; Barlowe/Maragelis (SCC) 9-21, 22-24; Swett/ Brown 15-21, 10-21 (SCC); Hinson/Lawrence 11-21, 11-21 (SCC); McKinnon/Ray (SCC) forfeit.

C. Bergmann