Lady Flyers Prevail on Inspirational Afternoon at the Hangar

The decibel level created by over 400 elementary school students filling Heins Gymnasium for Friday's noontime volleyball match between Sandhills Community College and Vance-Granville CC will be hard to top any time soon.

The fifth graders from Highfalls, Pinehurst, West Pine and Southern Pines Elementary schools were guests of the college on Elementary Day. They more than fulfilled their part of the bargain by cheering the Lady Flyers on to a 25-7, 25-14, 23-25 and 25-17 Region X victory.

Coach Alicia Riggan's squad took a record of 14-7 overall, and 8-2 in Region X, into two matches on Saturday against first place Patrick Henry CC (17-2, 10-0) in Martinsville, Va.

"It was the first time I ever saw the whole gym packed," Riggan said afterward. "Even with the extra chairs there wasn't a seat available. I couldn't think at times because it was so loud in here. The gym was electrified. It was so cool to see the kids so excited."

Riggan and athletic director Aaron Denton came up with the idea for the unusual field trip for the students before the season as a way to serve and get the community involved in SCC athletics. Prior to the first set, Denton, freshman MaKenna Parson of the volleyball team and sophomore Christian Lathan of the basketball team talked to the students about the importance of learning to read.

"The message was to get the kids interested in reading because it is a part of your everyday life," said Parsons who did not see action because of a possible herniated disc in her back. "I hope I got through to a few of the kids."

Lathan told the audience that he didn't have much interest in reading when he was a fifth grader and had to force himself to read. One of the things he did in those days was read the backs of milk and cereal cartons while he was eating breakfast.

"In college a professor might give you two or three chapters to read in a week and I'm glad I can do that now," he said. 

Lathan and other members of the basketball team handed out bags of popcorn and bottles of water to the youngsters. Along with the volleyball players they created a lot of excitement by tossing miniature volleyballs and basketballs, and Flyer t-shirts into the stands. Flyer mascot Marty McFlyer contributed to the fun. 

Once the match got underway the enthusiastic support of the fifth graders was a coaches and players dream.

"It was exciting, " said freshman middle hitter Paige Garner, who along with teammates Holly Martindale, and Leah Salzwedel, once attended High Falls Elementary School. "It kind of pumped us up at the beginning. I hope they had a good time."

Hot from the start, Garner's sixth kill gave the Flyers an 11-2 lead in the one-sided first set. The Flyers put the ball down on an impressive 26 of 49 attack attempts on the way to winning the first two.

"The noise had to be distracting to the other team," Riggan said. "The first two sets were exactly how I planned them to be."

During the break between the second and third sets Southern Pines Elementary teacher Hannah Hancock talked about the unique field trip.

The energy of the kids is incredible," she said. "I'm glad they are getting this opportunity and they really seem to enjoy it. I think the players are feeding off that energy and having a good time as well."

The Vanguards (12-8, 4-6) from Henderson, N.C. played better, and the Flyers were not nearly as sharp, in the final two sets of the day. Paige with 15, Chandler Adams with 13, and Morgan McCarthy with nine, went on to lead the team in kills.

The leaders in digs were Erica Groff with 17, Kaylee Lopez-Rosario and Salzwedel with 15, and Adams with 14. Setter Cheyenne Brown was credited with 39 assists and four service aces.

Toward the end of the third set the students left the gym to be bussed back to their respective schools. What Connor Tepatti of Southern Pines Elementary enjoyed the most was the scrambles for the miniature balls and t-shirts. So did Emily Johnson of Pinehurst Elementary who caught one of the balls. She already knows that she wants to go to Penn State for college like her father did.

"It was really fun watching the girls compete," she said. "I loved it when someone would score a point and do their happy dance."

Teacher Jessica deMestre of Pinehurst Elementary described the day as unlike any other field trip.

"The kids got to experience the atmosphere of a college campus and got to hear what the student athletes said about the importance of reading," she said. "And I liked what the athletic director said about making choices now and to be proactive with your future. It's a great message all around. It was well-organized and a great day for the kids."

One of the highlights of the day was the singing of the National Anthem by Pinehurst Elementary student Eliza Hage. For Denton the event was unlike anything he has seen as well.

"From the response today I think the teachers and kids loved it," he said. "Obviously we are hoping they will want to come back and we can do it again."

C.Bergmann