Lady Flyers Volleyball Team Right Back At It
Coach Alicia Riggan and the Sandhills Community College volleyball team took a step toward preparing for what will hopefully be a more normal 2021 season with the first of a series of open gyms last week at the college.
The optional sessions, that are open to returning players, incoming freshmen, recruits, former players and high school juniors and seniors, continue on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday over the next two weeks.
Following a July 4th break, the open gyms will resume until the start of preseason practices on August 2nd. The preparations lead up to the first regular season match at home against Lenoir CC on August 19.
A 2020 season, like no other for athletic teams at all levels due to the pandemic, began for the Lady Flyers with preseason practices last August. The challenges included practicing with masks, the start of a regular season that was delayed until late January, limited spectators, a move up to a Division II level of competition, and the introduction of beach volleyball as a sport at the college in the spring.
The beach volleyball season ended with a pair of matches at Spartanburg Methodist on May 7.
"We are usually a month into it," Riggan said of the open gyms, "but I felt the players and coaches needed a break."
The Monday and Wednesday open gyms are held at The Hangar, and the Tuesday sessions on the sand courts. Each two-hour session is preceded by a one-hour workout led by the team's Strength and Conditioning Coach Ryan Riggan that is specifically designed for volleyball.
Early Signs of a Developing Team Chemistry
Five players, including Camryn Lowe, Mariah Daffron and Mya Mallard, who started most of the matches last season, are returning along with Brooke Anne Fryar and Abby Quick. A sixth, Rachel Patton, will not play this season because of knee surgery.
The squad also includes 11 incoming freshmen and there are early signs of team dynamics that could help make it a close-knit group. All of the newcomers were invited to attend last month's Lady Flyers Sand Volleyball Camp and did participate.
Three of the new players were teammates at Purnell Swett High School as were two others at St. Pauls High School. Mallard and newcomer Amya Curtis were teammates at Voyager Academy.
Quick (Scotland County) and another incoming freshman Lexi Allen (Pinecrest) were rivals in high school.
"I actually played with a lot of the girls on a travel team," said Savanna Lowery, a setter/right side, who was the Three Rivers Conference Player of the Year last season at St. Pauls High School.
Riggan thinks those kinds of connections have helped break the ice in terms of the new and returning players blending together.
"They were hugging each other, giving each other high fives and were genuinely excited for each other," the coach observed during the week.
Lowe, who has been credited with more than 1,000 assists in her two years as a Lady Flyer, has opted to return for a third season under the NJCAA eligibility relief ruling related to the pandemic.
The product of North Moore High School has already earned an associate degree in civil engineering technology.
"The third time is the charm," she said jokingly. "We have a great group of girls coming in. Everyone seems to be putting their best effort forward and that's all you can ask for as a team.
"I think the break we had was enough. I'm ready to get back to normal."
Carley Modlin, Abby Wallace, Jordan Ward, Morgan McCarthy, Ashia Lily, Rachel Mashburn, and Kaitlyn Lisenby are some of the former Lady Flyers that participated at the open gyms.
"We want it to feel like a family here with former players coming back to participate," Riggan said. "It's so cool that they want to come back and play."
Putting it All Together
The Lady Flyers compiled an overall record of 16-5 last season, including a 7-3 regular season mark against Region 10 Division II competition, but will now return to Division III.
The Flyers' coach is ready to begin the new campaign and likes the energy she is observing. An interesting schedule includes a Labor Day weekend trip to Perrysburg, Ohio where it will play host Owens CC and Lorain County CC. The Flyers also went there in 2019.
"I'm ready for the new team," Riggan said. "We've got a lot of rawness to us and seeing the potential that's there is what keeps me excited about my job.
"I want the girls to be in the gym. I want to get better. And I want us to be better this year than we were last year. I see a lot of great things already. The schedule is done and we're ready to rock and roll."
C. Bergmann