Lady Scots win first round matchup with Southern Lee

LAURINBURG —The Lady Scots volleyball team defeated No. 7 Southern Lee three sets to one in the first round of the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament on Monday night at Scotland High School. Scotland won both regular season matchups with the Cavaliers and now advances to the second round of the tournament, where they will host No. 3 Union Pines on Tuesday night. Head Coach Adam Romaine acknowledged that getting a win this time of year is the only thing that matters regardless of how good or not good it looks.

“We were maybe looking ahead just a little bit but overall we played well,” Romaine said. “We came in and did what we had to do, chemistry and communication weren’t there at times which shouldn’t happen this time of year.”

The first set of the game wasn’t one the Scots dominated but it was one they had control of throughout as they never trailed. They would get the set’s first two points and six of the first eight to immediately build a cushion. They would also get another four in a row shortly after to go up 10-5. The closest Southern Lee would get to even after that was when they trailed 15-13 and 16-14. Scotland would get the final four points of the set to win it rather comfortably 25-17.

The Scots dominated the second set from start to finish. They started the set with four unanswered points and on a 7-1 run. Scotland would also get another four in a row shortly after to stretch their advantage up to nine at 11-2 before the Cavaliers tried to halt the Scots’ momentum with a timeout. That did not work as the Scots finished the set on a 14-5 run after the break and held a lead as big as 19 en route to a convincing 25-7 victory.

Scotland started slow during the third set and never recovered as Southern Lee got the set’s first two points and six of the first eight while consistently keeping Scotland at an arm’s reach throughout. A 6-2 run eventually helped the Scots take their first lead of the set at 19-18. Scotland was also ahead 21-20 but allowed the Cavaliers to get five unanswered points and lost their chance at a sweep in a 25-21 defeat. Romaine admitted to using this set as a chance to get some rest with more still ahead for his group.

“I used the set to get some girls out because I know we’re going to need them tomorrow night,” Romaine said. “Just wanted to get them some time off their feet.”

The final set of the night saw the Scots determined to not let Southern Lee force a fifth set. Scotland started with two points in a row and four of the first five. A separate 3-0 run put the Scots ahead 9-4 before the Cavaliers called for time. Scotland would go on a 6-3 surge after the break to stretch the lead up to eight at 15-7. They would then cruise to the finish line from there, scoring five unanswered to end the set and took it 25-13.

Addison Johnson was a stat sheet stuffer for Scotland, recording 26 kills, nine digs and three blocks in the victory. Molly Gallagher added 16 kills and six digs with Reagan Malpass dishing out 27 assists. All three were recently named to the all-conference team.

Elsewhere in the conference tournament saw No. 3 Union Pines sweep No. 6 Richmond and No. 4 Hoke County sweep No. 5 Lee County, setting up the Scotland/Union Pines matchup and Hoke County visiting No. 1 Pinecrest, who received a bye. The winners of the two semifinal matchups will meet on Wednesday night for the conference championship. Romaine knows the challenge that lies ahead, particularly without Nora Teasley due to injury but he feels good with how Riley Fedak has filled in thus far.

“We know we’re going to have a big fight with Union Pines,” Romaine said. “With Nora still out we got some good chances to get Riley some touches under her feet, she’s been filling the void pretty good right now for us.”