Savannah Lampley has been named the Daily Journal’s Athlete of the Week for the week of Monday, October 1.
Lampley is a senior outside hitter for the Richmond volleyball team who tallied a total of 39 digs, 36 kills, two aces and a block in three wins last week — playing a huge part in the Lady Raiders extending their winning streak to four games.
The two-time all-conference selection started and ended the week with a couple of all-around performances versus Scotland (13 kills, 12 digs, 2 aces) and Lumberton (17 kills, 14 digs, 2 aces, 1 block) last Monday and Thursday, respectively, and led the team with 13 digs and six kills when it traveled to Hoke County last Wednesday.
“My focus was keeping everybody positive, try to get good passes, make easy plays, and get the other team to mess up,” said Lampley, a two-sport athlete who has already committed to play her college softball at UNC-Wilmington.
Lampley not only leads the Lady Raiders with her 195 kills on the season, she’s also among the kill leaders in the Sandhills Athletic Conference. She’s fourth on the team in total digs (168) and digs per match (9.3), fifth for Richmond in blocks (6) and aces (14), and has a 98.8 serve percentage. She’s racked up 117 points on her serves — which is third most on the team.
“I just try to get Carley (Lambeth) to set me up a lot when I’m feeling good and getting a lot of kills,” she said, “so I can take advantage of the other teams if they’re in a bad spot on defense.”
Seeing that she’s one of only two seniors on the roster, the other being senior middle hitter Savannah Chappell, the senior outside hitter has made it her mission to show the underclassmen what it takes to win. Lampley was a key member of the 2016 and 2017 volleyball teams that won back-to-back undefeated conference titles.
“I just try to use my experience I’ve had since ninth grade, being on varsity, to help the younger ones not only get ready for next year but also do better this year,” she added.
Below are Lampley’s answers to three questions presented by the Daily Journal:
Q: What’s your favorite sports memory so far?
A: It would be hitting the walk-off home run versus Jack Britt this past year in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Q: Who’s your biggest influence(s)? Why?
A: Probably my parents. My dad takes me to hit all the time and my mom helps me a lot, especially when I was younger with my pitching — and also with school. And they both played (baseball and softball) at Wingate, so that helps a lot.
Q: Who’s your favorite athlete and/or team? Why?
A: Haylie McCleney, she played for Alabama University’s softball team and now she’s on the U.S. National Team. When I was first turning around left handed, she was one of the best hitters in the country and I just looked up to her.