Knights' run comes to an end|Riverside falls to Pender in regional

Published 3:18 am Thursday, November 4, 2010

By By BRIAN HAINES, Brian@wdnweb.com, Sports Writer
Riverside’s run at an NCHSAA 1-A state volleyball title came up a bit short on Tuesday when the Knights ran into defending state champs Pender and fell 25-14, 25-10, 25-5 in the East Regional.
Riverside (23-3 ), the No. 1 seed from the Four Rivers Conference, had to travel to No. 1 Pender ( 29-2, Tri-County Conference) because the school’s conference held priority this year and Knight’s coach Herbie Rogers said playing on the road was a tough challenge for his young team that features one senior in Meredith Robertson.
“Going down and playing them on their home court was tough,” Rogers said. “They have a good home court and a very good volleyball program; I think they have been to the championships for three years in a row. We knew it would be a tough challenge for us.”
Riverside was able to hang with Pender early, but fell victim to late runs.
“For the first two games it was 10-10, but in those two games they just made runs on us,” Rogers said. “We just couldn’t answer those runs.”
Pender was able to make those runs thanks to strong play by its net players.
“They probably hit the ball harder than any team we have faced all year,” Rogers said. “They have some girls who have a great understanding of how to hit the volleyball and where to hit the volleyball. The offense they ran was really tough for us to defend.”
Rogers praised the efforts of all his players and said that he was proud of the way his team played on Tuesday.
“I thought Meredith and Rachel (Baker) played very well,” Rogers said. “Perry (Ange) our setter had a good game too.”
It’s been a good season for the Knights, who were formed this summer when Williamston merged with Jamesville. The two schools have had a strong tradition of volleyball in the past and Rogers said the young group turned in a good year and grew a lot as a unit.
“It all started with Meredith, our lone senior, she had a great year for us,” Rogers said. “Not only was she a really good volleyball player for us but she was the leader of our team. Being the lone senior a lot was asked of her and she really gave a lot. She is one person our team will really miss next year.”