ROCKINGHAM — Richmond volleyball coach Shellie Wimpey believes her team got “a little complacent” during the third set of Wednesday’s four-set win (25-13, 25-15, 23-25, 25-13) over Anson.
The Lady Raiders came out of the gate ready to play in their home opener, winning each of the first two sets by at least 10 points. Seniors Altman Griffin and Bri Baysek took turns dominating the first set, while Owen Bowers picked up a few of her 14 kills in the second.
Things slowed down for Richmond after that, as it struggled to keep the momentum going in the third set. It fell behind early, fought back to tie things up 8-8 and then took a brief 10-8 advantage.
Anson would even the game up shortly after and eventually forced the Lady Raiders to take a timeout after it went ahead 13-12. The Lady Bearcats would build on their lead, going up by as much four points, before the home team was able to come back and, once again, take a short-lived advantage.
That was the last time Richmond would lead during that set, as Anson stayed the course and ultimately won by two points.
“I thought we played great in games 1 and 2, but got a little complacent in the third game and it showed,” Wimpey said.
Richmond did redeem itself in the final set, however, with its play resembling the dominance shown in the opening sets. And for the second consecutive game, the Lady Raiders finished their opponent in four sets.
Senior Mackenzie Webb recorded 39 assists, junior Savannah Lampley finished with 15 digs and sophomore Layne Maultsby had nine digs. Bowers’ 14 kills was second on the team to Altman Griffin, who recorded 18 kills to go along with her 11 digs.
“Altman has stepped up so much this year. She’s confident in the way she plays and she has become a great leader on the court,” Wimpey said. “The game is so fast that sometimes from the side we can’t relay information quick enough, so it’s important to have a team leader on the court that can relay the information to other players as it’s happening.”