Lady Flyers Debut in DII With a Sweep of the Titans
More than five months after beginning their preparations for a regular season match, the Sandhills Community College volleyball team traveled to Jamestown on Saturday and swept Guilford Tech 25-15, 25-8 and 25-15.
Adding to the excitement of a COVID-19 delayed season opener, the Lady Flyers were playing in their first match as a member of Region 10 in NJCAA Division II. The NJCAA gave member colleges in DIII the option to move up for volleyball and basketball because it was decided a Division III national tournament would not be held in those sports this year.
"It was a great first win in our first DII region game," Coach Alicia Riggan said. "The girls started out slow and making some errors, but they quickly regrouped and started playing together."
In a match that was live streamed, the Lady Flyers led almost all the way throughout the match. They held a narrow 16-14 lead in the first set when Riggan called a time out. Sophomore outside hitter Christen Clontz then recorded three service aces during a run of six points in a row that helped wrap it up.
Sophomore setter Camryn Lowe also helped break down the home side in the second set with a couple of aces as the Lady Flyers scored 11 of the first 12 points on the way to a 17-3 lead.
Freshman outside hitter Brooke Anne Fryar was credited with three kills about half way through the third set that ended on an emphatic swing by sophomore Alexus McCrimmon.
"The second set was Flyer Volleyball," Riggan said. "The girls were clicking and playing together. It's always good to get the first game out of the way and those unforced errors out of their system."
Middle blocker Carley Modlin, an NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American last season, has committed to play at UNC Asheville next fall. She led the Lady Flyers in kills with eight followed by McCrimmon with five and Clontz and sophomore Morrigan Denman with four apiece.
The other statistical leaders included Lowe with 20 assists and 11 digs, Clontz with 13 digs and four service aces and freshman libero Mariah Daffron with eight digs.
Last season's squad was made up of 12 freshmen and a sophomore transfer. Following a 3-6 start, it went on to capture Region 10 regular season and tournament championships, finishing with a record of 22-12. This year's team has seven returnees, including Modlin and three other players that earned All-Region 10 honors in Denman, Clontz and Lowe.
The other returnees are McCrimmon, defensive specialist Mya Sencenbaugh and middle hitter/right side Khaile Jones. In addition to Fryar and Daffron, the freshmen include Abby Quick, a libero, outside hitter Rachel Patton and setter Mya Mallard. Patton is currently sidelined with a knee injury.
In her 12th season at Sandhills, Riggan (217-97) is also an Associate Athletic Director. She is being assisted by Kristin Hylton, Lindsay McMannon, Jacob Marley and Jordan Ward.
Practices on Wednesday and Thursday will be spent preparing for the SMC Invitational hosted by Spartanburg Methodist (SC) that begins on Friday.
"We plan to spend some time with hitting and blocking, seeing the court and working more on pressure moments with serving in the next couple of days before leaving at 6:30 am on Friday," Riggan said. "We are excited about playing two more region games this weekend. The girls are excited about their first road trip. It should be a great experience playing multiple games on two days."
On Friday, the Flyers face Bryant and Stratton (VA) at 11 am and Spartanburg Methodist at 3 pm. On Saturday they play USC Lancaster at 8 am followed by USC Union at 10. Bryant and Stratton and USC Lancaster are both Region 10 members.
Since there will no fans allowed, each game will be live streamed. Current plans are for it to be streamed on the Pioneer Athletics at the Spartanburg Methodist College Facebook page. A link might be able to be set up through YouTube or the Sandhills Athletics website. The most up-to-date streaming location will be posted on all of the Sandhills social media accounts.
C. Bergmann