LAURINBURG — The Richmond Senior High Lady Raiders volleyball team had their conference tournament aspirations cut short on Tuesday night, losing in three straight games to the Lady Fighting Scots, 25-12, 25-9, 25-23.

The Lady Raiders escaped a tough Lumberton Lady Pirates squad winning the match three games to two on Monday, but weren’t able to extend their momentum against the Lady Fighting Scots as they hit their rhythm on the court too late in the match.

The first game between the teams was close through the first two points as the Lady Raiders drew to a two-two tie, but slowly fell behind the Lady Scots allowing them to score nine straight points, and from there, the Lady Scots pulled away.

The Raiders seemed to lack communication in the first two matches, but were able to rebound in much of the first game, but fared better in the early going until a questionable call took the air out of the Lady Raiders’ sails.

A high volley back across the net by Alex Gardner was ruled to hit the ceiling in the gym, and trailing eight to five at the time, it went downhill for the Lady Raiders from there as they were able to score just four points the rest of the way.

The table was set for a Lady Fighting Scots clean sweep of the Lady Raiders, and many fans in the stands were wondering if the Lady Raiders were going to put up a fight, or just accept their lumps and return home.

Though down two games the Lady Raiders dug in and made their stand in the final game of the match, jumping on every chance that they had, the fought from being 16-11, to draw to within one point of the Lady Fighting Scots.

With the score at 24-23, the Raiders served one last time and a well placed shot put the game away for the Lady Scots as the ball hit just in the back right corner of the court.

“I’m proud of the way that the girls played tonight,” Richmond coach Michelle Denson said.

“We were down early two games to none, and we played hard in the third match but just fell a little short.”

“We may have lost but the girls showed their character and lost in a close match instead of just giving up,” Denson added.

The Lady Raiders did not quallify for the playoffs this season.

While the Lady Raiders wil lose ing five seniors, the rest of the Lady Raiders will return in 2011, looking for improvement on the court and the chance to take a run at the Lady Fighting Scots who have won the conference title the past five years in a row.

Contact sports reporter Travis Anderson at 997-3111 ext. 44 or via e-mail at tanderson@yourdailyjournal.com.