Lady Flyers Start and Finish Strong in Opening Win Over Wake Tech

There was plenty of energy on the court, and in the stands at Heins Gymnasium Wednesday evening, as the Sandhills Community College volleyball team opened its season with a convincing 25-16, 22-25, 25-15 and 25-13 win over Wake Tech.

The Lady Flyers rebounded strongly from a second set let down against a perennially strong Division II Eagles squad that swept Davidson County CC in its opener on Monday. The Eagles had won the previous seven meetings between the two teams over a four-year period.

Sophomore middle hitter Paige Garner led the home team with eight kills on just 11 total attacks. Among the other second year Flyers, libero Erica Groff was credited with 22 digs and Morgan McCarthy led the team with four solo blocks.

Standouts among the newcomers included setter Abby Wallace with 22 assists, to go with 10 digs, and outside hitter Rachael Mashburn with six kills on 10 total attacks and six digs.

"It was really cool to be here and have that kind of support for the first game," Flyers' coach Alicia Riggan said of a Student Night crowd that included solid support from members of the school's basketball, golf and cross country teams. "We hope they liked what they saw and will come back for more."

There was a lot to like. Following the one-sided opening set, the Flyers led 16-10 midway through the second before making a number of mistakes that gave the Eagles some life. The visitors capitalized on the Flyers' fifth service error of the set, and served for two aces, while scoring the final five points to tie the match at a set apiece.

"I felt like the girls kind of relaxed," Riggan said. "We talk to them a lot about being relentless. It doesn't matter what the scores is - every point matters.

"We were making a lot of mental mistakes. I told them to take a deep breath and see if we can get back at it."

Leading 9-8 in the third set, a kill by McCarthy, followed by a dramatic win at the net that saw both Garner and Mashburn get a piece of the ball, helped get the Flyers rolling again.

"Even when we were down a little bit we were always pushing ourselves to be better," McCarthy said.

Another win at the net by Garner, and a nifty tip by freshman Brooke Sayers helped push the margin to 19-10.

Later, Wallace scored on a couple of no-look flicks that found the floor on the other side, and assisted twice on kills by Garner, to help vault the Flyers to a commanding 18-9 lead in the decisive fourth set.

"She was everywhere," Riggan said of Wallace. "She's very athletic and you can see the leadership ability she has. She did a phenomenal job."

A four-year varsity player at Pinecrest High School, Wallace found her first match as a collegian to be an exciting experience."

"I really didn't know how much I would play and to start was really cool – especially on the college level," she said.

The Lady Flyers will travel to South Carolina on Saturday to face two Division II foes nicknamed the Lancers in USC-Lancaster CC and Lenoir CC. They will be back at home next Wednesday for a 6 p.m. start against Louisburg College.

C.Bergmann