Lady Flyers Sweep Titans for Eighth Win in Last Nine Matches

Buoyed by two important conference wins in Virginia on Saturday, the Sandhills Community College volleyball team needed barely an hour to sweep Guilford Tech 25-14, 25-9 and 25-16 on Tuesday evening at the Hangar.

"I think we're just starting to jell together especially after last weekend and playing tonight in front of our fans," Coach Alicia Riggan said. "The girls just seemed like they were really hyped. Everybody contributed and that was exciting."

The Lady Flyers (9-3) knew coming in that this would probably be their only match in a week that originally shaped up as a grueling one. Thursday's date at Wake Tech, and the four they would have played at the Pitt Bulldog Classic on Friday and Saturday, have been postponed or cancelled because of the threat of Hurricane Florence.

"We just hope the weather isn't too bad and we can all be safe," the coach said.

The Lady Flyers defeated the Titans 3-1 in their season-opener three weeks ago in Jamestown. They set the tempo for this one by swinging hard from the service line and upfront during an animated pre-game warm-up. That energy carried right into the match.

Two service aces by Lilli Inman and four by Shaedyn Housh in the first set helped turn an early 4-3 deficit into a 16-5 lead. The Flyers took command early in the second set as well helped by four of Inman's team-high nine kills.

Inman, Rachael Mashburn and Chelsea Green each had three kills as the Flyers went on to complete their eighth sweep of an opponent in the last nine matches.

Led by Inman with six and Housh with five, the Lady Flyers chalked up 16 service aces and had eight different players contribute to the team's 31 kills in 70 attacks. The kill percentage of .343 was the team's second highest this season.

Middle blocker Tee'Ashia Lilly was credited with seven kills on just nines attacks and Mashburn added six on 11 chances. Setter Abby Wallace had 23 assists and Housh, the libero, led the team in digs with a dozen.

Mashburn, a right side hitter, shares the duties of team captain with Lilly and Wallace.

"We had a pretty good warm-up and everybody had the right attitude which is also very helpful," the Union Pines High School graduate said. "I thought that made a difference.

"We had already played them so we knew what to expect and that made it a lot easier."

The Flyers are scheduled to return to action next Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a Region X conference match at Central Carolina CC.  Mashburn doesn't think the cancelled matches and practices will have an effect on the team's momentum.

"This will give us an opportunity to recover and get some extra sleep," she said. "I think we'll come back stronger."

Members of The Arc of Moore County's Book Club were guests of the Lady Flyers for the match.

C.Bergmann