Richard Bland Falls To Visiting Pitt (N.C.) 3-0

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS (YouTube)

SOUTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. -- Richard Bland College dropped a 3-0 women's volleyball decision to Region X East Division member Pitt (N.C.) Community College on Saturday afternoon at Statesman Hall.  Freshman Emma Eggleton/Chesterfield led the host Statesmen (2-13) with five assists, four digs and two blocks, while sophomore Alexis Lyons/Prince George added five assists, three kills and two blocks against the visiting Bulldogs (16-8), who took the sets by scores of 25-10, 25-8 and 25-12.  Richard Bland will play at Region X East member Lenoir (N.C.) Community College on Monday, October 16, at 6 p.m. in Kinston, North Carolina. 

"It was a tough match today," said first-year head coach Scott Newton.  "We will define ourselves by how we bounce back on Monday."

In addition to the efforts of Eggleton and Lyons, freshman Caitlin Stout/Dinwiddie added six digs, classmate Cassi Jencik/Midlothian contributed four digs and one kill, freshman Taylor Laxton/Wakefield had three kills, two blocks and two digs, and classmate Avery Munden/Chesterfield added four digs, two kills and one service ace.

Set 1: Richard Bland led early at 5-4 before Pitt scored six unanswered points to lead 10-5.  The Bulldogs increased their lead to 15-6 before the Statesmen closed to within 16-9.  Pitt ran off eight-straight points to lead 24-9 toward the 25-10 set victory.

Set 2: Richard Bland fell behind 4-1 and 8-5 before Pitt scored 11 unanswered points to lead 19-5.  The Statesmen managed to get within 23-8, but the Bulldogs closed out for the 25-8 set win.

Set 3: Richard Bland led early at 2-1 and the set was tied at 4-4 before Pitt scored four-straight points to lead 8-4.  The Statesmen were within 11-7 before the Bulldogs used an 8-1 run to lead 19-8.  Richard Bland got within 22-12, but Pitt closed out again for the 25-12 set victory.

Richard Bland will complete its inaugural season with three additional matches next week against Region X opponents, including the Statesmen playing their final home contest against East Division Bryant & Stratton College on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m. in Statesman Hall on Sophomore Night for Alexis Lyons, Sara Gardner/Chester and McKenzi Thorne/Chester.  

Richard Bland concludes its campaign with a pair of matches at Wake Technical (N.C.) Community College on Friday, Oct. 20 in Raleigh, North Carolina … versus West Division Surry (N.C.) Community College at 4:30 p.m. and against West Division Wake Tech at 6 p.m.