Flyers Top Alumni in Four Sets
The Sandhills Community College Flyers Volleyball team kicked off their 2024-25 season with their annual Alumni Scrimmage on Saturday afternoon inside The Hangar. The Flyers jumped out to an early 2-0 set lead and later rallied in the fourth set to secure a 3-1 victory (25-15, 25-17, 14-25, 25-18).
"I think there was a lot of energy, especially in the last seven days. All the girls are working hard, and the sophomores are showing great leadership. It was awesome to see it carry over into our scrimmage," said Flyers Head Coach Alicia Riggan. "We had five different lineups, giving everybody a chance to play. There are still some things to work on, but we saw a lot of good things, and it looks like a promising season."
The Flyers Alumni Squad featured a talented group of former players, including Tiffany Hicks Privott, Carley Modlin, Abby Wallace, KeKe Lawrence, Tee'Ashia Lilly, Dajsha Fields, Abby Quick, Ny'Asia McKinnon, Alyssa Maragelis, Khaile Jones, Alexus McCrimmon, Morrigan Denman, and Rachael Mashburn. Also assisting in coaching the alumni team were Flyers alumni JaLasia Ray and Olivia Barlowe.
"I mean, it's one of my favorite days. Thirteen of them took time out of their busy schedules to come back and give something to a program that's given so much to them. It's a great compliment to our program. A lot of those girls come to open gym and build relationships with our current players," Riggan added.
"Definitely really cool to play against people I used to be teammates with. I'm close with Carley Modlin, and it's really fun to play with her in open gym. It was a great time getting to play against them," said current Flyer Caroline Bradford.
The Flyers started strong in the first set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead before the Alumni battled back to tie the set at 13-13. With the score knotted at 15-15, the Flyers went on a 10-0 run, closing the set with a barrage of kills to take a 1-0 lead.
In the second set, the Alumni Squad jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but the Flyers quickly gained momentum, flipping the score to take a 12-6 lead. They continued to build on that advantage, eventually leading 20-12 before closing out the set for a 2-0 lead.
"Even in the first set, we jumped out to a big lead, and then all of a sudden, it started to narrow back down. That's something we need to work on—keeping our foot on the gas pedal and not letting up," Riggan commented.
The third set saw the Alumni Squad take control early, maintaining their lead throughout to avoid the sweep and force a fourth set.
"We're looking for grit from each other, especially when we're down. The third set didn't go the way we wanted, but I was super excited to see us bounce back in the fourth and even in the fifth set," said Riggan.
The fifth set was a tightly contested battle, with both squads going point for point. The Flyers eventually took the lead at 6-5 and never looked back, using their momentum to secure a comeback win in the set. Although the match was decided, both sides agreed to play a fifth set, which the Flyers won 15-11.
Caroline Bradford led the Flyers with 12 kills, followed by Kristin Dodds and Cassidy Jewett, who each recorded nine kills. Mariana Clayton led the game defensively with 23 digs, while Nikki Lambert and Lainey Mullins contributed 15 and 14 digs, respectively. Zoey Hall finished with 18 assists, Clayton added 13, and Sydney Garner tallied 12. The Flyers had a strong day on the service line, recording 14 total aces as a team.
"The offense was there, and we had a lot of energy as a team. That really worked for us," Bradford said. "We just reminded each other to reset and get our minds right so we could win the fourth set."
Sandhills continues its preseason action next Saturday when they welcome St. Andrews University and Cape Fear Community College to The Hangar, starting at 11 a.m.
Z. Ciboth