Lady Flyers Put the Lid on Another Successful Season at Team Banquet

There was plenty to look back on and celebrate when the Sandhills Community College volleyball team, family members and friends of the program got together at the John Dempsey Student Center for a banquet Wednesday evening.

Playing a difficult early schedule the Lady Flyers began the season with four losses in their first six matches before gaining confidence during a program-record nine-match winning streak. Coach Alicia Riggan's squad went on to come within a tie-breaker set of defeating two-time regular season champion Patrick Henry CC for the Region X tournament title at the Hangar and the right to also host the district championship. 

Sophomores Chandler Adams, Cheyenne Brown, Kaylee Lopez-Rosario and Holly Martindale combined with eight freshmen to compile an overall record of 19-9 and a conference mark of 11-3.

The season that began in August included 6:45 a.m. practices and 16 matches on the road. 

"This was a group of girls that genuinely liked each other on and off the court and that made my job easier," Riggan says. "They all wanted to be in the gym. They were all okay with the early practices even though about half of the team traveled 30 to 45 minutes to get here. That was a huge commitment in itself.

"They are all such good and well-behaved kids and that's a true reflection on their parents. Hopefully we'll bring in some more girls just like that."

Four of the Flyers were recognized again for the Region X awards presented to them during the tournament. Paige Garner was an all-region first team selection. The freshman middle hitter was credited with 319 kills. Only SCC Hall of Famer Miranda Love, another product of North Moore High School with 428 in 2011, has had more in the nine seasons of Flyer volleyball. Garner also led the team in solo blocks.

Brown, along with freshmen Erica Groff and Morgan McCarthy, were picked for the all-region second team. Brown made the honor squad for the second time. In spite of missing eight matches because of an ankle injury the Flyer setter finished up with a team career-record 1,438 assists. She set the team single-season record of 852 as a freshman.

Only Love with 631 had more digs in a season than the 625 recorded by Groff who posted 49 in the tournament semi-final win over Davidson County CC. McCarthy, a middle hitter, was second on the team in kills with 236, second in solo blocks and third in service aces. 

Team awards were presented to Garner, Offensive MVP, Groff, Defensive MVP, Leah Salzwedel, Most Improved and Adams, Flyers Award.

Salzwedel stepped in at setter when Brown was injured. She finished the season with 348 assists and led the team with 54 service aces. Adam's capped her career as an outside hitter with two of her finest performances at the Region X tournament semi-final and championship matches where she was credited with a total of 32 kills and 43 digs. For the season she was second on the team in digs and third in kills.

Martindale and Lopez-Rosario were also a part of two teams that produced a combined record of 43-19. An outside hitter, Martindale was second on the team in service aces, third in digs and fourth in kills.  Lopez-Rosario, a defensive specialist, saved one of her best performances for the thrilling semi-final win over Davidson.

The first-year players also included Derriya Robertson, Morgan Bridges, McKenna Parson and Zoe' Hanks.  Parson missed the final 10 games and Hanks missed the entire season because of injuries. 

All four of the sophomores are on schedule to graduate. Lopez-Rosario has already received her degree, but is continuing to take courses in respiratory therapy at Sandhills. She plans to pursue both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree at UNC-Charlotte. Brown is looking to continue her education at UNC-Chapel Hill toward a career in dentistry. Martindale plans to continue in the nursing program at Sandhills. Adams is uncertain about her next destination, but plans to major in business.

The Flyers hosted the Region X tournament for the second year in a row. Defending champion Patrick Henry was the favorite after winning 23 conference matches in a row before being swept by the Flyers in the second of two matches held in Martinsville, VA the weekend before.

In the first of two grueling back-to-back five set matches the Flyers defeated Davidson in one semi-final before taking on the Patriots in the title game. Some of the hurt from that loss for the Lady Flyers has been replaced by the pride of the high level that the team competed at.

"It obviously wasn't the outcome we wanted," Riggan said," but you look at the bigger picture and at how long they played for and how they never gave up. They had to be physically and mentally exhausted. "

The coach thanked assistant coaches Kristin Hylton and Ashleigh McKenzie and student assistant Jacob Marley as well as the many people that supported the program throughout the season. She told the audience that she cannot wait to see how much the freshmen develop during the off-season and thanked the parents for the opportunity to coach their daughters.

C.Bergmann

Photo By: K. Manning