Molly Gallagher prepares to spike the ball during Scotland’s second round matchup with Union Pines.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Reagan Malpass sets up a teammate with a pass.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Jordyn Walker prepares to serve the ball on Tuesday night.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
The Scots bring it in during a timeout.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG —The Lady Scots volleyball team advanced to the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament championship game with a 3-0 sweep of No. 3 Union Pines on Tuesday night at Scotland High School. It was Scotland’s second straight win over the Vikings, having also beaten them in a sweep back on Sept. 25. Head Coach Adam Romaine was thrilled with how his team played from start to finish and has always known this group is capable of great things when they put it all together.
“We’ve talked about it all year long, when you play like this and you play together, you can play with anybody,” Romaine said. “They have to believe in themselves at the end of the day and they played without pressure tonight.”
The first set was initially a seesaw battle that didn’t see either side establish any real advantage. That all changed when the Scots got five unanswered points to go up 11-5 as they never were tied or trailed again after that. They consistently kept a comfortable cushion the rest of the way, never leading by any less than four en route to winning the first set in impressive fashion 25-15.
The ensuing set was tight throughout. Scotland started slow as Union Pines got the set’s first two points and didn’t trail for the first time until the Scots went on a 3-0 run to go up 8-7. Scotland also held a 13-11 advantage, the first time they held a multi-point lead during the set but allowed the Vikings to get five unanswered points to go up 16-13. Still trailing 18-15, the Scots managed to erase the deficit by getting four unanswered to go back in front 19-18. The end of the set was as competitive as the rest with the two teams going blow for blow until Scotland got the set’s final two points to win it 25-23. Romaine acknowledged that this set was a real turning point in the game from a momentum perspective and could’ve gone either way.
“It was anybody’s game in that set, we had a few service errors but I just told the girls ‘hey you’re fine just make up for it,’” Romaine said. “I was proud that the girls didn’t let all the errors weigh them down like it has before, finding a way to win that set was the dagger that just broke their back.”
The final set was similar to the first in that no team gained a true edge right away. Scotland got on the board first, then trailed 5-3 before managing to tie it at seven. The Scots quickly got the momentum boost they needed with three unanswered points to take the lead for good. Union Pines would get within one at 11-10 but Scotland responded with four points in a row to stretch the cushion up to four at 15-11. The Scots kept their foot on the gas through the finish line and took the set 25-17 to complete a convincing sweep.
Addison Johnson and Molly Gallagher were the team co-leaders in kills with 12 apiece. Jordyn Walker had a team leading eight digs while Ramsey Hale paced the Scots in blocks with five. Reagan Malpass dished out 20 assists in the victory.
Top seeded Pinecrest defeated No. 4 Hoke County in four sets on Tuesday night, meaning No. 2 Scotland will now visit No. 1 Pinecrest for the conference title on Wednesday night. Scotland lost both regular season matchups with the Patriots, most recently dropping a five-set thriller on Oct. 3 at home. Romaine is well aware of what a win over Pinecrest would mean for the program but knows it’s not going to be easy.
“That would be icing on the cake especially for our seniors going out with the history we have with them,” Romaine said. “Knowing we had them on the ropes here a couple of weeks ago, we want to carry this momentum over and we’re going to be ready for a fight.”