The Richmond Senior volleyball team continued its strong play.

The Lady Raiders defeated Purnell Swett 3-1 in a Southeastern Conference match Tuesday afternoon at Raider Gymnasium and earned their fourth win in a row. Richmond improved its record to 6-2 overall, 2-0 in the conference.

Richmond won 25-16 in the first game, lost 25-23 in the second, but won 25-21 and 25-16 to win the match in four games.

“Ever since our last loss to Gray’s Creek, we’ve been playing consistent and playing with the type of intensity we need to go out and win matches,” Lady Raiders coach Wendy Wallace said.

Both Natalie Brown and LaShey Brown led the way for Richmond. Natalie Brown had a team-high 18 service points along with eight kills and two service aces, while LaShey Brown notched 17 points and led the Lady Raiders with nine kills and six aces. Rebecca Kinsey and Brittani Hodges also had five kills.

“LaShey and Natalie both did a good job of serving,” Wallace said. “LaShey is really good at moving the ball and attacking the net, while Natalie is one of best our hitters on the team besides Rebecca. We don’t have that one person we count on every night to lead us, but we do have a lot of versatility, which is a strength.”

LaShey Brown allowed Richmond to pull away in the first game. With the game tied at 12, Brown recorded seven straight service points, including two straight aces in the run to help the Lady Raiders surge ahead 19-12.

Richmond went on to win the first game and led 10-8 in the second game, before the Lady Rams used a rally of their own. Swett’s Hannah Blue, who had a team-high 12 service points, reeled off seven points in a row on serve, helping Swett take a 15-10 advantage.

The Lady Raiders rallied to even the game at 15 on a LaShey Brown’s kill. With the game tied at 19, Swett’s Laura Bird had three straight aces, giving the Lady Rams a 22-19 lead. Richmond drew within 23-22 on Natalie Brown’s kill, but Swett broke serve to take a 24-22 lead.

LaShey Brown again drew the Lady Raiders within a point when she tap the ball over the net that Swett failed to return. But Swett pulled the game out as Richmond’s Salina Bright’s attempted tap at the net failed to get over, allowing Swett to win the second game.

“I thought in the second game they took us out of our offense and we were unable to adjust,” Wallace said. “They’re a scrappy team that plays good defense. They’re not going to let the ball hit the floor and give up easy points.”

Richmond led 15-9 in the third game before Purnell Swett surged ahead 19-18. After the Lady Raiders broke serve to tie the game at 19, Natalie Brown registered an ace and a kill to give Richmond a 21-19 lead. Bright added a kill to make it 22-19. Swett pulled within 22-20, but the Lady Raiders scored three of the last four points to win the third game by four points.

In the final game, Richmond jumped out to a 14-3 lead, but Swett closed the gap to 14-10. The Lady Rams failed to get over the hump as Richmond pulled way as the matched ended on a kill from Brittani Hodges.

“We played well at times and other times, we got complacent,” Wallace said. “I know we’re winning, but we’ve got to do a better job of not letting a team back in the game when we’ve got a big lead.”

Richmond returns to action today at Raider Gymnasium against South View following the JV game.

The Purnell Swett junior varsity volleyball team swept Richmond 26-24 in both games.

Brittany Hudson and Ashley Leviner both had a team-high six service points. The loss dropped the JV Lady Raiders to 3-4 overall, 0-2 in the conference.