RWA senior Carson Justice digs low to save the point at Spartanburg Day School. (Photo/Martha Ladd)
WINNSBORO – Currently sporting a 10-3 overall record (2-3 region), the Richard Winn Academy Lady Eagles volleyball team enters the final two weeks of the regular season a bit battered and bruised. Even through the recent adversity, the players have not lost their spirit and drive to succeed.
So far the Lady Eagles have met their toughest opposition in their region opponents, having lost twice to Spartanburg Day School and once to defending state champion Spartanburg Christian in the past two weeks. The 10-member RWA squad dropped down to eight players for the past several matches with sophomore Rebecca Robertson and junior Emily Brigman out of the lineup. Robertson just returned to the lineup this week after nursing a foot injury, but the return of Brigman, who is suffering from shoulder problems, before the end of the season is questionable. Unfortunately, to add fuel to the fire, senior Carson Justice went down with an ankle injury late in the third game of the match at Spartanburg Christian on Oct. 1. The severity of her injury is yet to be determined, leaving head coach Callie Sims a job to re-adjust her starting lineup once again.
The Lady Eagles traveled to Spartanburg on Sept. 19 to face their second region foe, the Oakbrook Prep Lady Knights. In a contest that went five games, the Lady Eagles headed back to Winnsboro with the victory – 24-26, 25-19, 25-10, 23-25, and 15-8. RWA hosted Ben Lippen’s Lady Falcons on Sept. 23 and defeated them for the second time this season in three straight games – 25-20, 25-14, and 25-15. On Sept. 24 the Lady Eagles made the road trip to Greenwood to face region opponent Greenwood Christian and captured victory number nine on the season – 25-19, 25-20, and 25-7. That week concluded with another trip to Spartanburg to match up against the Lady Griffins of Spartanburg Day. While the first two games of the match could have gone to either team, the Lady Eagles found themselves on the short end of a three game loss – 24-26, 25-27, and 16-25. The Lady Cyclones of Chester High School visited the Eagle Nest on Sept. 30 in the second meeting of these teams. Once again the RWA team prevailed – 25-23, 25-8, and 25-16. The Lady Eagles traveled to Spartanburg again on Oct. 1 and suffered their third defeat of the season at the hands of Spartanburg Christian’s Lady Warriors – 12-25, 10-25, and 16-25. A battle of the Eagles took place on Oct. 3as the RWA squad visited the Newberry Academy Eagle Nest for their second meeting of the season. RWA swept Newberry in straight games – 25-17, 25-12 and 25-9 – for win number 10.
The Lady Eagles travel to Northside Academy in Lexington tonight (Oct. 7) and host Oakbrook Prep Tuesday (Oct. 8) at 5 p.m. RWA closes out the week with a home match against Greenwood Christian Thursday (Oct. 10).
Next week, the Lady Eagles travel to Laurens Academy on Oct. 14 and finish the regular season at home against Spartanburg Christian on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m.
