Lady Flyers Settle for a Split in Charlotte
The Sandhills Community College volleyball team fell just short in its bid for a sweep in a tri-match held at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte on Saturday.
The Lady Flyers, now 2-4 for the season, swept USC Lancaster 25-15, 25-15 and 26-24 in it's opener before falling 10-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-23 and 9-15 to the host team.
Coach Alicia Riggan's squad returns to action with a 5 p.m. match at Lenoir CC on Thursday. The Flyers play at home for the first time on Saturday when they meet Rockingham CC at 11 a.m., and Southwest Virginia CC at 3 p.m., in a Division III, Region 10 tri-match.
The Lady Flyers trailed USC Lancaster 22-15 in the third set before rallying behind some tough serving by Abby Quick and L'Asia Jackson. Jackson's sixth ace of the match wrapped up the sweep.
Middle hitter KeKe Lawrence led the Flyers with seven kills on eight attacks. Setter Kaitlyn Locklear was credited with 19 assists. Lexi Allen and Quick each contributed eight digs.
"I felt like our energy was really high in the first game," Riggan said. "After being down in the third set and coming back and winning 26-24, and taking a 3-0 sweep, I was hoping that would lead over into the next game."
USC Lancaster swept Johnson and Wales, a four-year program, in Saturday's first match. After defeating the Lancers in the second match of the afternoon, the Lady Flyers had only a 30 minute break before taking on the home team.
They dropped the first set 25-10, but bounced back to take the second 25-16. The Wildcats led 2-1 in sets, and 22-19 in the fourth, before Allen led a comeback, culminating in a kill by Mackenzie Swett that forced the tiebreaker.
The home team then went on to score five of the last six points to saddle the Flyers with the 3-2 loss.
"We started out super flat in the first set," Riggan said, "but bounced back in the second. And then we were kind of up and down throughout the third, fourth and fifth sets. We've got to reduce our errors so that we can remain in the driver's seat in games."
Allen, with 13, and Mya Mallard with 11, led the Flyers in kills. Locklear recorded 37 assists and four service aces. Quick was the leader in digs with 24.
"We did a lot of good things in both games," the coach said. "We only got 30 minutes to warm up for both games, something we haven't done before, or played back to back, so those were great experiences for sure.
"We're excited to get everyone back on Monday for a few practices and to finally have some home games."
Johnson and Wales finished the day with an overall record of 5-2. USC Lancaster, a Division II squad, is 5-8.