The Richmond Senior High School Lady Raider Volleyball Team got off to a hot start after going 2-1 in their first week of action.

After opening the season with a three-set sweep of Forest Hills Monday, the Lady Raiders faltered a bit in a four-set loss to Harnett Central Tuesday before and pulling out a nailbiter Wednesday after edging Pine Forest in five sets.

“The girls came out with more confidence. We’ve had a gap since we’ve played, so I was scared coming in here. I won’t lie to anybody. They pulled together and moved the ball pretty well. It was good to see,” said RSHS coach Ashleigh Larsen, following Monday’s opener.

Although dominating up the middle for most of the night, sophomore libero Kinley Smith made it a little easier for the Lady Raiders with a team-leading 8 aces. In the second and third set, she gave RSHS a 4-0 advantage, then a 3-0 advantage with consecutive aces to start the game.

“I was just going back there and hoping I got it over,” Smith said.

Another factor in the Lady Raiders opening night victory was the play of middle blockers. Defensively, junior Leiana Brooks seemed a force with a team-leading 5 blocks while, offensively, fellow blocker Riley McDonald had a team-leading 9 kills, which was only two ahead of junior outside hitter J’Nasia Neal’s 7.

“It’s a little more at ease for me, because I can trust them in the middle whether I trust them to block or send them (for a kill). Leiana worked hard this offseason, and so has Riley … Leiana followed her (older) sister along the way, so I think she learned a bit. They balance well with each other and learn from each other, and that’s good too,” Larsen said.

Although listed as a defensive specialist, Smith was not the team leader in digs, Monday. That status belonged to sophomore outside hitter Madisen Jackson, who bested Smith with 5 digs to Smith and sophomore outside hitter Kalynn McCormick’s 2 each. Thanks to a stingy defense, the Lady Raiders maintained a double-digit lead throughout large portions of Monday’s contest.

“It wasn’t a learning curve (Monday), because we’ve already played together. Next game, we’re going to play better,” McDonald said.

McDonald’s words Monday seemed to ring true Monday, the Lady Raiders played better but faced stiffer competition. Harnett Central opened the match with a 25-22 victory in the first set, only for Richmond to even the score with a 27-25 victory in extra sets. Harnett Central went on to take the next two sets 25-19 and 25-23 to hand the Lady Raiders their first loss. McDonald finished the night with a team-leading 19 kills, followed by Neal with 4. McDonald and Smith tied for the team lead in aces with a pair each while Smith had a team-leading 26 digs, followed by 16 from senior setter Ava Edmondson.

In the final match of the week, the Lady Raiders pulled off a five-set nailbiter, but the statistics were not available before press time. They return to the hardwood Tuesday with first serve against Montgomery Central slated for 6 p.m.

“It will be good moving forward. We know what we need to work on … The confidence in the seven or eight girls that played out there [Monday night] is pretty good,” Larsen said.