Senior middle blocker Ramsey Hale (15) celebrates with her Fighting Scots teammates after a key point during a high-energy rivalry match against the Richmond Raiders.
Travis Petty Jr | The Laurinburg Exchange
Junior setter Scarlett Hoover (9) of the Fighting Scots Volleyball team sets the ball during a match against the Richmond Raiders, as teammates prepare for the play.
Travis Petty Jr | The Laurinburg Exchange
Junior outside hitter Molly Gallagher of the Fighting Scots Volleyball team goes up for a spike against the Richmond Raiders as teammates look on, during an intense rivalry.
Travis Petty Jr | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG — “We played like diarrhea, simply put,” head coach Andrew Romaine stated after the Lady Scots volleyball team’s disappointing match against the Richmond Raiders on Tuesday.
In what he called their worst performance of the season, the Lady Scots committed costly missteps, whether it was balls bouncing off players’ faces, missed communications on defense or an offense that never seemed to find consistency. This showing was far from what Scots fans or players expected in a rivalry game.
“We beat ourselves, tons of errors, bad passing and not running our system,” Romaine said. “We didn’t get quality points. We had some girls that the game got into their heads, and they got down on themselves and they couldn’t pull themselves out of it.”
From the opening serve, the Scots appeared disjointed, despite the significance of this rivalry game. Last year, the Scots swept Richmond in their two match-ups. What caused this game to look so different?
“Our middles struggled; the offense’s timing wasn’t there,” Romaine stated. “I expect Ramsey Hale to pick up her game and play better. Molly Gallagher didn’t have her best game because she didn’t have her quality sets.”
The Scots committed 15 service errors from the line. With the exception of an early lead to start the match, Richmond completely outplayed them. The Raiders swept the Scots in three sets, 19-25, 18-25 and 15-25.
Romaine has stated that “this is a rebuilding year,” and he knows his players have the talent, but their lack of experience is holding them back. However, five weeks into the season, he admitted the pressure is on for this team to find its footing.
“I hope it clicks before the conference; that’s the goal of having all of these non-conference games,” Romaine said. “If we don’t, it’s going to be a struggle, because we’re young and inexperienced and we don’t have a lot of depth. We don’t have anyone whom I can go to on the bench to help solve our problems. It’s do or die right now.”
The Scots (3-2) will try to erase the disappointment of this loss as they take on Fairmont at home on Aug. 27 at 6 p.m.
Travis Petty Jr can be reached at [email protected] or 910.506.3171 ext 2027. Follow him on Facebook @ Travis Petty Jr.