Tournament Champion Lady Flyers Face Northampton Saturday for Trip to Nationals

The Sandhills Community College volleyball team punched its ticket to the District H championship in Bethlehem, Pa. by defeating Patrick Henry CC 25-10, 25-16 and 25-23 in Saturday's championship match of the Region X tournament.

Earlier Saturday, at Central Carolina CC, the Lady Flyers (27-5) swept Rockingham CC in a semi-final match. They went 12-0 overall against Region X teams this season without losing a single set.

At an awards banquet held on Friday, Coach Alicia Riggan was named Region X Coach of the Year and sophomore Paige Garner was named Player of the Year.  Along with Garner, freshmen Brooke Sayers and Abby Wallace were first team all-region selections, and sophomore Erica Groff was a second team pick. Sophomore Morgan McCarthy was an honorable mention selection.

"I'm really proud of the way the girls played today," Riggan said. "They showed why we finished first and why we deserved those awards."

The Flyers' district opponent at noon on Saturday will be a Region XIX champion Northampton CC squad (24-4) that has won 91 matches in a row against teams in its region going back to 2011. They will play the Spartans on their home court.

The Flyers defeated them in early September as a part of their four matches in two days trip to New York City. Saturday's district winner earns a trip to Rochester, Minn. for the NJCAA, Division III National Championship.

"They play a lot like us," Riggan said. "We swept them in New York, but just like us I'm sure they will have improved. It's going to be tough playing on their home court, but I think we've prepared for situations like that.

"I'm sure a lot of our fans will go and that's been important to us. It was almost like a home game with all the support we had today."

Middle hitter Garner established her presence up front by recording kills on three of the first four points, and Wallace had eight service aces, in the one-sided win over Rockingham. Up 2-0 in sets in the championship match, Patrick Henry seriously threatened the Flyers' perfect streak in the region by taking a 20-14 lead in the third.

Freshman middle hitter Tee'Ashia Lilly got the kill after one of the longest volleys of the day, and followed that with a physical win at the net, to tie the score at 20-20. Later a clever tip by Sayers made it 23-22 Flyers.

It was 23-all when setter Wallace, and Garner, collaborated to score the final points that unseated the two-time Region X champion Patriots, and sent the Flyers to the district tournament for the first time since 2013.

"It was real exciting to see the girls pull together," Riggan said. "It was an exciting last 10 points for sure."

Freshman outside hitter Chelsea Green was credited with a team-high nine kills to go with a season best 19 digs. Wallace had 27 assists, 10 digs and three more service aces. Groff added 22 digs and Sayers finished with eight kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Rachael Mashburn contributed five kills, five assists and six digs.

"This gives us momentum going into next weekend," Garner said. "I'm just really ready to go on to the next level and to see how it goes."

This Saturday's winner qualifies for the eight team field of the NJCAA Division III Championship in Rochester, Minn. on November 10-11.

Flyer Notes – Groff talked about the contributions of the freshmen like Green who enjoyed her most productive outing of the season against Patrick Henry. "They are really stepping up," the Flyer libero said. "I've loved leading them along with Paige, Morgan and Leah (Salzwedel). Garner also won conference player of the year honors as a senior at North Moore High School. "I'm very honored and thankful to my coaches and teammates," she said. The 11 service aces in the two matches by Wallace give her 81 for the season, the third most in NJCAA, Division III. 

C. Bergmann