Richmond Ninth Grade Academy Gold team volleyball coach Amy Kesler admitted her players served terribly against Lumberton last week.

Kesler said her team spent a great deal in practice working on serving and it paid off Monday afternoon at the Ninth Grade Gymnasium.

The Gold team swept a doubleheader with South View as Richmond prevailed 25-12 and 25-15 in the first match and 25-14 and 25-20 in the second. The wins improved the Gold team to 5-1 on the season.

After missing 12 serves in the first match with Lumberton, Kesler used an unique approach in practice which she believed helped her players make better serves against the Lady Tigers.

“We did a lot of running and I could tell in practice that it made them concentrate a little better on their serves,” Kesler said. “It carried over to this game because we made good tosses and our balance was a lot better than in our prior contest.”

Maxie Poole illustrated the difference by finishing with a game-high 24 service points. Poole did the majority of her damage in the first match, getting nine points in the first game and seven in the second.

“Maxie did an excellent job of serving and leading us with her play,” Kesler said. “She helped set the tone and then everyone else came along.”

Kesler added her team made strides in other areas besides serving.

“Our hitting has gotten better after every match and we’re starting to set and spike the ball better,” Kesler said. “I think the girls also are playing a little better under control and our play in the front row has been solid.”

However, Kesler wants the back row play to be more consistent.

“We need to get better at playing the ball deeper,” Kesler said. “I guess that’s something else we will focus on in practice.”

The Gold team returns to action at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Hoke.