Flyers Hold Off Storm, Sweep Season Series Against Davidson Davie
The 8th-ranked Sandhills Community College Flyers (17-4) picked up a huge win over Division II Davidson-Davie (2-10) Thursday night at the Hangar on the campus of Sandhills Community College. The Flyers took the first two sets, saw the Storm take the third, and then closed things out for a 3-1 victory (25-20, 25-20, 27-29, 25-13).
"We've got to get out of this habit of only taking care of business in one or two sets. We had a lead in the third set, ran out of subs, and had multiple opportunities, but we didn't execute. That's something we've been focusing on in practice—first ball out of serve, first ball kills from free balls. I don't understand why we aren't putting teams away when we should," Flyers head coach Alicia Riggan said.
With the win, the Flyers swept the season series against the Storm for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
"It's definitely good for our confidence level. When we can come out with a lot of energy and hold a team to 13 points in the fourth set, that's awesome for us," Caroline Bradford said. "We just have to keep our foot on the gas pedal no matter who we play."
"I think our girls are grooving right now and playing really well together. It doesn't matter who's across the net from us—whether it's Division I, II, or III. Our goal is to go out there and play Flyer volleyball, to the best of our ability, and we did that at times tonight," Riggan added.
After going up 2-0 in the match, the Flyers were looking to sweep, just as they had on the road earlier in the season. However, the Storm had other plans, battling back and forth with the Flyers late in the third set.
Sandhills controlled the pace early in the third, but a rally allowed the Storm to close the gap to 20-15. Davidson-Davie eventually took the lead, with each team gaining set points. The Storm managed to hold on and avoid the sweep, forcing a fourth set.
The Flyers gained momentum early in the fourth set and never looked back, jumping out to a 10-4 lead thanks to a series of blocks, aces, and kills from their outside attackers. Sandhills never trailed in the fourth set, which played a key role in quickly putting the Storm away to win the match.
"We definitely needed to put the ball down and be more aggressive, and I think that's exactly what we did in the fourth set," Bradford noted.
Here's how it played out: A kill by Cassidy Jewitt sparked a Flyers run early in the first set. The Flyers started to pull away until the Storm went on a series of runs, forcing Sandhills to fend off a 6-0 push to secure a 1-0 lead.
The second set mirrored the first, with both teams going point for point until the Flyers went on a late run, taking the lead at 17-16. Sandhills closed out the set with an 8-4 run to enter the pivotal third set.
Bradford led the way for the Flyers with 12 kills, while Kristin Dodds followed with nine, and Katelyn Bunting finished with eight. On the assist side, Mariana Clayton led with 20, Zoey Hall added 12, and Sydney Garner recorded nine.
"Our goal was to win in three, but obviously that didn't happen. We needed to come back in, stay focused, stay energetic, and definitely be aggressive," Bradford said.
On defense, Lainey Mullins led the way with 25 digs, Nikki Lambert added 12, and Clayton tallied 11. Jewett and Bunting were forces at the net, each coming away with two blocks, while Dodds, Reagan Smith, and Jenna Luquer each contributed one block.
The Flyers will now hit the road to compete in Division I play this weekend in Lancaster, S.C., where they will participate in a tri-match against USC Lancaster and Andrew College. Their first match is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Saturday against USC Lancaster.
"I'm really excited about the opportunity to get out and play games like this, get more reps in, work on different lineups, and be ready for conference play starting next week," Riggan said.
Z. Ciboth
