Lady Flyers Cap Sophomore Day With 30th Win of Season
The Sandhills Community College volleyball team celebrated Sophomore Day on Saturday at The Hangar by winning its 29th and 30th matches of the season.
The No. 6 ranked Lady Fyers, now 30-5, completed Region 10 regular season play at 9-1 with a 25-12, 25-7 and 25-9 victory over Virginia Peninsula CC of Hampton, VA. Later they defeated the Clinton College junior varsity of Rockville, SC 25-9, 25-6 and 25-8.
Virginia Peninsula defeated Clinton in between the two contests involving the Flyers.
Coach Alicia Riggan's squad closes out the regular season with home matches on Tuesday at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. against a Division II Cleveland CC squad that defeated the Lady Flyers twice back in early September.
Tied with Caldwell Tech for first place in the conference, the Lady Flyers will go into the Region 10 tournament held at Caldwell Tech in Hudson, NC as the No. 1 seed and play in one of the semi-final contests at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The Sophomores Reflect on their Experiences as Lady Flyers
In addition to contributing to a team GPA of 3.24 for the 2023-24 year that earned the Lady Flyers recognition as an NJCAA Academic Team of the Year, there is evidence the sophomores, coupled with a strong group of freshmen, have contributed to a strong team chemistry that has led to the success on the court.
Accompanied by family members, sophomores Caroline Bradford, Sydney Garner, Zoey Hall, Cassidy Jewett, Nikki Lambert, Jenna Luquer and Lainey Mullins, were honored before the games began.
"Lainey, Syd and I have played together since we were in the eighth grade, so that's pretty special," Bradford, a product of Pinecrest High School, said afterward. "I think it definitely helps with the vibe of the team because we're all pretty close."
Jewett, a middle hitter, and Lambert, a defensive specialist, also played at the same high school (Southside Christian), adding to the development of a closely knit group.
"We're all really close and I think that it helps that we're friends off the court too," said Lambert. "There is a lot of trust and that makes playing a lot more fun."
Jewett feels that tenacity is one of the strong characteristics of the team and that she has never felt so connected to teammates and coaches.
"We just really enjoy the games and work very well together," she said. "All the girls are like best friends and I think that really helps on the court.
"Our coaches are awesome. They are so qualified and so good at what they do. They know what it is to be a college athlete and that help us a lot. They bring that to the table and we feed off that."
Luquer, a product of Scotland County High School, is another of the team's strong corp of outside hitters. A setter, Hall prepped at North Mecklenburg High School and is currently third on the team in assists. She described the atmosphere of a team with a roster of 17 players as super-positive.
"It's just fun to be around everyone and it makes the game fun," she said. "I think it's because we're all happy for everyone and everybody is grateful for the opportunities they receive."
Mullins, a libero, who received DIII Defensive Player of the Week recognition in September, thinks the intensity with which teammates go after each other in practices is one of the keys to the team's success.
"When it comes to playing, I think this team obviously jells very well together," she said.
Riggan Looks Ahead to an Important Week
Coach Riggan is hoping a season that produced a team record number of wins, conference co-regular season title and a record of 20-3 against higher division teams, can take this special group of sophomores and the teamates they help lead, back to the national championship tournament they missed out on a year ago.
"The energy is just different with this group," the coach says. "They play together and they support each other. When we recruit kids we tell them you are going to have a great experience and you are going to get better here. It's awesome to see how much progress they made during the season.
Riggan has been assisted by Holly Mandeville, Jacob Marley and several other part-time assistants throughout the season.
Having five coaches they are receiving feedback all the time."
C. Bergmann
