Nansemond River High School’s volleyball teams split matches against the Lakeland Cavaliers at Lakeland on Tuesday.

The Lady Warriors got the job done Tuesday night in a 3-1 victory over the Lady Cavs.

Anytime a rivalry game is played, it brings the best out in both schools, and that was the case with these two schools.

“They pulled it all together and did a great job,” Lady Warriors coach Robin Smith said. “We were more aggressive, we kept our spirits up, and communicated well.”

With the win, the Lady Warriors go 1-1 against their fellow Suffolk schools. Last week, the Lady Warriors took a loss to the Lady Bulldogs.

Tuesday’s match gave them a chance to avoid getting swept by both schools.

“It’s always important to beat rival schools here in Suffolk,” Smith said. “We didn’t want to go down to both of them. We fought hard.”

Even though the Lady Warriors got the win, they still feel some things need to improve.

“We need to clean up some things with our middle,” Smith said. “Our serving needs to be better, as well.”
Lakeland coach Mike Cooke was proud of the way his team competed.

“Each game, we want to get better,” Cooke said. “The girls were excited to be able to play Nansemond River. I was extremely proud of the competitiveness I saw in each girl.”

The boys’ volleyball match was intense. The Cavs got the win 3-2, but it was an arduous win. Both teams lacked energy early but eventually picked up the pace.

In the first minute of the game, LHS coach Tarijuana Napoleon called a time out and sat on the bench and watched her team huddle. The scowling look Napoleon gave her team during the break said more than any words she could have spoken.

“Sometimes my team can take teams for granted, and it reflects in their level of play,” Napoleon said. “Once they understood that they could possibly lose the game, they finally put it together and we won.”

Tuesday’s win gave Napoleon a sweep of Suffolk schools. In the previous two years, Nansemond River had won the match-ups.
Despite not winning on Tuesday, the Warriors did things they liked.

“The first two sets, we slacked off a bit,” Warriors senior co-captain Jake Bordeaux said. “In the next three, we hung in there and played our game. We had some great blocks and at the same time showed we are here to compete hard.”

Next, for Nansemond River volleyball are matches at Gloucester High School today. The girls play at 5 p.m., followed by the boys at 6:30 p.m.

Lakeland will be at Denbigh High School today. The girls will play at 5 p.m., followed by the boys at 7 p.m.

Girls’ volleyball
Nansemond River 3, Lakeland 1

Boys’ volleyball
Nansemond River 2, Lakeland 3
L- Hunter Rawls had 30 kills and five blocks. Joseph Crouell had  five kills and four blocks. Derrick Ricks had 10 kills and one block. Kyle Stuart had three aces and 51 assists.