Red Hawks Top Lady Flyers in Clash for First Place

The Sandhills Community College volleyball team undertook a difficult challenge on Saturday, facing a No. 2 ranked Catawba Valley CC team that had won 185 Region 10 matches in a row.

In Hickory, the Lady Flyers lost the first two sets, won the third and then came within two points of sending the match into a tiebreaker before falling 18-25, 22-25, 25-12 and 24-26.

"Being down two sets to zero wasn't what I anticipated going into the match," Coach Alicia Riggan said upon the team's return to the college. "I'm thinking, if we don't figure this out in the third set we're going to be back on the bus.

"The girls came out on fire and beat them in the third. We tied them at 24-24 in the fourth and had the serve. I felt very confident. I hate the way it ended."

The No. 20 ranked Lady Flyers lost their first conference match of the season, dropping to 7-1 and 13-2 overall. The Red Hawks improved to 5-0 and 7-0.

The Flyers continue trying to position themselves for the Region 10 tournament that begins on March 22 when they entertain Cape Fear CC (5-1, 5-1) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

The two teams were tied at 12-12 in the first set before the Red Hawks pulled away. The Lady Flyers were in contention, trailing 22-23 in the second, but the home team scored the next three points to take the 2-0 lead.

Freshman Mya Mallard, a setter/defensive specialist from Athens Drive Magnet High School, was asked what she was thinking about at that point.

"It felt like this was a big game, but I wasn't nervous," she said. "Volleyball is a game of errors and it just comes down to who makes the least errors.

"I was confident in my abilities and the team's abilities. We all knew we could take this team."

Leading 4-3 in the third, a kill by setter Camryn Lowe ended one of the longest rallies of the afternoon. Moments later, a kill by Carley Modlin, from Lowe, capped a run of eight straight points, making it 10-3.

A finish at the net by Alexus McCrimmon, and a service ace by Lowe, increased the margin to 20-5, all but wrapping up the third set.

In spite of five service errors by the Flyers, the fourth set was tied at 16. It was knotted up at 23-23 and 24-24 before a strike by Modlin was ruled out of bounds, on a call that was appealed, ending the match.

The leaders in kills were Modlin, 11, Morrigan Denman, eight and Christen Clontz, six. Lowe was credited with 24 assists and Clontz and Mariah Daffron were the leaders in digs with 12 apiece.

"There was a lot of growth there for us," Riggan said. "Catawba Valley is good, but they're beatable. I think the girls realize that. When you beat a team 25-12 in a set, that's not a fluke."

Going into Saturday, the Flyers were one of three teams undefeated in Region 10 play.  Catawaba Valley is all alone at the top after Cape Fear CC defeated previously unbeaten Fayetteville Tech in four sets.  Riggan and the rest of the team enjoyed the cheers provided by an estimated 25 Flyer supporters that made the trip to Hickory.

C. Bergmann