LAURINBURG —In what was the rubber match between the two teams this season, No. 3 Richmond Senior grabbed its second consecutive sweep over No. 2 Scotland, wining 3-0 during the semifinal round of the Sandhills Athletic Conference volleyball tournament on Tuesday.

Set scores were 25-19, 25-23 and 25-20.

Richmond (19-5) moves on to the championship round and travels to No. 1 Pinecrest on Wednesday.

The Lady Raiders used a defensive clinic to pace the road victory, tallying a season-high 91 digs, much to the delight of head coach Ashleigh Larsen.

“They did really well tonight…Layne (Maultsby) was sailing all over the court. “We were sending Carley (Lambeth) everywhere. Jadyn (Johnson) and Madison (Jordan) had a big day and Emy (Cooley),” she said.

“It was just an all-around effort to get this win, and I’m proud of all they did tonight.”

Maultsby is the team’s senior libero and saved her best effort of the season to lead the defensive charge. She collected a season-best 30 digs and consistently anticipated swings from the Lady Scots hitters.

Joining Maultsby in dominating their side of the court was Johnson with 19 digs and Lambeth with 16. From the defensive specialist position, Cooley notched 12 digs.

A strong start to the match from the visitors resulted in an early 5-1 lead, then things tightened up as Scotland’s Raven Taylor and Kamdyn Morgan combined for three aces to cap a run that evened the score at 9.

With both sides exchanging blows, Lady Raiders middle hitter Georgia Grace Anderson created some space on the scoreboard with back-to-back kills to take a 19-15 lead.

Good defense sealed the set, as the Lady Scots were frustrated into committing three unforced errors to close the frame.

“It was good to come out here and do the same thing we did last week against a tough team,” said Larsen in the second win over the Lady Scots in five days.

“They (Scotland) didn’t give up…They were determined to beat us, but thankfully, we held our own and ended it in three.”

After gaining a sizable advantage in the second set and going up by as many as 10 points, the Lady Scots gained momentum with good swings and aces. An 11-2 run forced Larsen to call her second timeout of the frame with the score tied at 23.

But the Lady Scots’ lack of execution, mixed with the Lady Raiders’ court coverage, halted the comeback attempts again. Back-to-back errors awarded Richmond a 25-23 set win.

Both groups came out firing in the final frame that saw five ties. Anderson had three of her team-high eight kills in the stanza, and Scotland’s Angelle Norton had back-to-back spikes to tie the score at 17.

The Lady Raiders had the final push of the evening, using an 8-3 run to finish off the victory and advance to the title round.

For Larsen, it is her first trip to the conference championship match as a head coach and she feels that though the same is true for most of her unit, they’ll be ready.

“I think our confidence is at an all-time high,” she said.

”Their goal has been set on making it to the championship, so if they can keep this positivity and intensity up, I think tomorrow will be a good game for all.”

Donnell Coley| Richmond County Daily Journal No. 3 Richmond celebrates after defeating No. 2 Scotland in straight sets during the semifinal round of the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament on Tuesday.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_VB_scots3.jpgDonnell Coley| Richmond County Daily Journal No. 3 Richmond celebrates after defeating No. 2 Scotland in straight sets during the semifinal round of the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament on Tuesday.

Donnell Coley| Richmond County Daily Journal Lady Raiders libero Layne Maultsby prepares for a set during the team’s 3-0 road win over Scotland. Maultsby led the group with a season-high 30 digs.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_VB_layne.jpgDonnell Coley| Richmond County Daily Journal Lady Raiders libero Layne Maultsby prepares for a set during the team’s 3-0 road win over Scotland. Maultsby led the group with a season-high 30 digs.
Lady Raiders beat Scotland, head to SAC title game

By Donnell Coley

Sports Editor

Donnell Coley can be reached at 910-817-2671 or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @Sportsinmyveins.