Richard Bland Falls In Opener To Visiting Louisburg (N.C.) 3-0

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS (YouTube)

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- Richard Bland College dropped its inaugural women's volleyball contest to Region X member Louisburg (N.C.) College, 3-0, Monday night at Statesman Hall.  Freshman Hollie Hill/Buchanan led the Statesmen (0-1) with 10 kills and two service aces, while sophomore Alexis Lyons/Prince George added 22 assists and three digs against the visiting Hurricanes (6-1), who took the sets by scores of 25-17, 25-16 and 25-17.  Richard Bland will play again this weekend, September 15-16, on the road at the Bryant & Stratton College Tournament in Norfolk, opening against Macomb (Mich.) Community College on Friday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m.

"We had a solid match to gauge where we need to be going into this weekend," said first-year head coach Scott Newton.  "When the match got tight, their experience of playing six matches already showed a big difference.  We learned a lot tonight and we're ready to get prepared for this weekend."

In addition to the efforts of Hill and Lyons, freshman Emma Eggleton/Chesterfield added seven kills, 10 digs and two blocks, while classmate Cassi Jencik/Midlothian contributed four blocks. 

Set 1: Richard Bland fell behind 6-1 before rallying back to within 10-9 in front a raucous crowd of 350-plus.  Louisburg extended its advantage to 15-10, but the Statesmen closed to 15-13, the closest the hosts would get.  The Hurricanes led 19-15 before outscoring Richard Bland 6-2 for the 25-17 win. 

Set 2: Richard Bland jumped ahead 2-0 at the start and led 5-3 before Louisburg scored five unanswered points to lead 8-5.  The Statesmen managed to pull within 9-8, but could get no closer, trailing 12-9 before the Hurricanes used an 11-3 run to lead 23-12 en route to the 25-16 win.

Set 3: Richard Bland once-again took an early 2-0 advantage and led 7-4 and 8-6 before Louisburg managed its first lead at 9-8.  The Statesmen were within 13-10 before the Hurricanes used an 8-1 run to lead 21-11.  Richard Bland battled back to within 24-17 late, but Louisburg managed the final point for the 25-17 win.

Richard Bland will play two matches at the Bryant & Stratton tournament on Saturday, Sept. 16, including against Region X opponent Catawba Valley (N.C.) Community College at 10 a.m. and host Bryant & Stratton at 2 p.m.