Exciting Finish Caps Lady Flyer Sweep of the Cougars
Trailing 21-14 in the third set at Central Carolina CC on Thursday, the Sandhills Community College volleyball team ran off 12 points in a row to complete a 25-17, 25-21 and 25-21 sweep.
With Camryn Lowe on the serving line throughout the run, an acrobatic return of a Cougar attack by defensive specialist Mya Sencenbaugh helped cut the deficit to two points and the string of points going.
Two kills each by Alexus McCrimmon and Morrigan Denman were included in the final six points as the Lady Flyers wrapped up the match with a flourish.
"It just seemed like all the energy was on the other side in that third game," Coach Alicia Riggan said afterward. "Mya made a great play and the energy shifted. It was probably the first set we've been down that many points and came back. I saw a lot of perseverance."
The Lady Flyers improved to 8-1 with their sixth victory in a row in the non-conference match while the Lady Cougars dropped to 4-2. Next is a trip to Martinsville, VA for another non-conference affair against Patrick Henry CC on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m.
For most of the first two sets, both teams returned the other's best shots, but the Flyers took advantage of some late service errors by the home side to take the 1-0 lead. Midway through the second, a series of kills by middle blocker Carley Modlin helped them pull away.
With the Flyers leading 8-6 in the third set, the Cougars made their strong bid to extend the match. Lowe's serves and plays like the one made by Sencenbaugh, who had seen little playing time in the previous three matches, wrapped up the team's seventh sweep of the season.
"I don't get to play much, but when I do come in, I try to cheer the girls up, do the best I can and play my part," Sencenbaugh, a sophomore product of Purnell Swett High School said. "I'm glad we came back as a team."
Throughout the early season, different players have stepped up at key times during matches.
"It's kind of been the highlight of the season so far that everyone has had their moment to shine," Riggan said. "Mya works hard in practice every day. When you're not playing a lot there can be some jitters and your not in your groove. She really thrived around that and it was good for a coach to see."
Modlin led the Flyers in kills with 10 and solo blocks with five. Denman each added six kills, 11 digs and three solo blocks . Lowe was credited with 24 assists.
Freshman libero Mariah Daffron continued her strong play in the back. She added 14 digs to her team-leading total for the season. She is also a consistent server with six aces against only one service error over the last six matches.
The Voyager Academy grad thinks the team has benefited from all of the time it has spent together going back to August.
"We became a team in the fall and now we're so united," she said. "It was just a team effort today and I'm just so proud of everybody."
While Sandhills elected to move up to Division II in volleyball this season, both Carolina Central and Patrick Henry elected to remain in Division III.
The Flyers will take a record of 5-0 in Region 10, Division II play into a 6 p.m. home match against Louisburg College next Tuesday. Eleven teams are currently competing in volleyball in Division II this season. Catawba Valley CC (4-0), ranked No.2 nationally, and Fayetteville Tech (2-0), are the other two undefeated teams in Region 10 matches.
C. Bergmann