Lady Flyers Ace Out the Titans for First Win of the Season
Picking up their first win of the season on Friday against Guilford Tech was a confidence builder for a Sandhills Community College volleyball team that lost a tough five-set match against Johnson and Wales a night earlier.
Considering they will be hopping on a bus at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning for a 200 mile drive to Petersburg, VA for matches at noon and 2 p.m., it was helpful that the Lady Flyers didn't take much more than an hour to get the job done.
A total of 19 service aces helped move things along for Coach Alicia Riggan's squad that improved to 1-1 with the 25-16, 25-17 and 25-12 sweep of the Titans at the Hangar.
"Serving is a big part of our game," said setter Adison Campbell who was credited with six of the aces. "We like to set the tone with a nice serve. It makes the rest of the game easier when we can gain a lot of points on serves."
A product of South Stanly High School, Campbell served for eight points in a row, including two aces as the Flyers jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set. After the Titans closed to 14-12, Morrigan Denman had three aces, and Sarah Faulk a pair of kills, to help close it out.
Two kills each by outside hitter Christen Clontz and middle hitter Carley Modlin spurred the home team to a quick start in the second game. The Titans drew even at 10-10, but an emphatic smash by Elyria Hackney capped a 5-0 spurt. Later, Campbell set up Modlin for the point that made it 2-0 Flyers.
Midway through a one-sided third set, Charlotte Herring served for three aces and Alexus McCrimmon two as they outscored the visitors 10-1. Two kills by Modlin, and one by Denman, accounted for the final three points.
"We've been working hard all of the preseason to do this so the work is definitely paying off," said Modlin, a Pinecrest High School grad. "We definitely communicated more than we did yesterday and our passing was better which was good for the middles. The serving was a lot better and I thought we just played better as a whole."
Modlin and McCrimmon were the leaders in kills with five and four respectively. Modlin was also credited with four blocks. Campbell (10) and Camryn Lowe (9) combined for 19 assists. Libero Willow Williams was the leader in digs with seven.
The match was scheduled at 5 p.m. in consideration that this was also the opening night of high school football with several home games . All 13 of the Lady Flyers made it into the statistical column.
"I felt tonight was about getting the confidence back after last night, figuring out the different rotations and getting everybody in," Riggan said. "To me it's always a success when you win and get everybody on the court."
In Saturday's high noon match, the Flyers meet an NJCAA Division II squad that was 28-1 last season. Host Richard Bland, the 2 p.m. opponent, is a Division I team that was 17-8 a year ago.
C.Bergmann