The Lady Scots volleyball team huddles during a timeout in a hard-fought match against the Richmond Raiders. Despite a strong effort, the Scots were narrowly defeated in the fifth set.
Travis Petty Jr | The Laurinburg Exchange
Junior Scarlett Hoover (9) sets the ball for a teammate during the Lady Scots’ intense match against the Richmond Raiders. The Scots battled hard but ultimately fell in the fifth set.
Travis Petty Jr | The Laurinburg Exchange
Sophomore Sky Christian rises for a powerful hit during the Lady Scots’ matchup against the Richmond Raiders.
Travis Petty Jr | The Laurinburg Exchange
Junior Molly Gallagher goes up for a spike during the Lady Scots’ matchup against Richmond. Gallagher had an outstanding game, contributing key plays throughout the intense five-set match.
Travis Petty Jr | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG — A heart-breaker in Scotland County: the Richmond Raiders once again edged out the Lady Scots, 3-2, in a fifth-set thriller. The annual Scotland and Richmond clash on Thursday night was anything but ordinary.
Just last week, on Aug. 26, the Scots were 3-0 versus Richmond on the road, with head coach Adam Romain bluntly stating the girls “simply played like diarrhea.” Thursday’s effort may not have matched that description, but the Scots left a sour smell in the air.
The gym was packed and divided evenly for the must anticipated Scotland-Richmond match-up. After the Scots jumped out to a 2-0 lead, many Raiders fans, convinced the outcome had already been decided, began heading for the exits.
“As easily as they 3-0 us, Richmond was expecting the same team, and our mindset was to show them who the real Scotland is,” Romain said. “That’s what we did in the first two sets; we ran a great system, we got their bigger hitter out of the game and it seemed like everything was moving in our favor.”
But something happened in the third set; momentum shifted. Despite their efforts, the Scots saw the game begin to go awry. The team’s lack of discipline showed up, and when the offense stumbled, players did not step up when the game came to its crucial moments.
“We completely hit a wall, and our mental mindset and attitude went downhill,” Romain said. “When we stuck it up that bad, we couldn’t fix it and they don’t know how to fix it.”
The Raiders stormed back and won both the third and fourth sets 25-22 and 25-20. The fifth set came down to who wanted it more. It was a close battle with the Raiders pulling ahead early and taking a 9-2 advantage. However, the Scots demonstrated their determination, rallying back to take a 12-11 lead.
But once again, the Scots could not pull together to win when needed; the Raiders rallied to take four of the final points, while the Scots only managed one in the final moments of the game, giving Richmond a 15-13 victory.
“I praise the team for how great they played, but there were some questionable calls. If I could pay a fine, I would say what I wanted to say about the officiating. But that’s not what lost the game for us; we lost the game due to our composure and lack of mental discipline,” Romain stated.
The Lady Scots now sit at 5-4 and look to move past this game heading into their next match-up against Gray’s Creek at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Travis Petty Jr can be reached at tpetty@cmpapers.com or 910.506.3171 ext 2027. Follow him on X @T_PettySports.