Volley Raiders drop two in Gainesville

Coach Steve Crouse’s Volley Raiders were on the road once again on Thursday night in non-region matches against East Hall and Rabun County. The result was not what Madison County had in mind as they played away from home for the ninth time this season. Rabun County was first on the floor with Madison County and took the Raiders to three sets before picking up the 2-1 win. Rabun jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the opening set but the Raiders rallied back to pull to within one point following three straight serve points by senior Taylor Hallenbeck. Rabun County answered with six straight points to extend the lead following the Raider threat. Late in the set, senior Ariel Jones took her turn at serving and the Raiders aided in giving her support as Jones served five straight times pulling Madison County again to within one point. The Raiders were unable to gain the lead as Rabun County closed the set with a 25-21 win.

In the second set with Rabun County, it was another senior, Paige Criddle, who took the baseline and served 10 consecutive times as the Raiders not only gained the lead for the first time but also pulled ahead to their largest lead of the night at 16-7. The run was made possible by Mya Moss who had an outstanding night at the net in both matches with several key blocked shots and spikes. Criddle later laid down a spike to close the set with the Raiders winning 25-15 to force a third set. Rabun County again jumped out to an early lead this time of 12-4 on the way to the set win 25-11 and the match win 2-1.

The Raiders then faced a tough East Hall team in the final match of the night. It was the host Lady Vikings using an 11-4 run to open the first set in route to a 25-14 win. The second set with East Hall looked to be a runaway for the Vikings early after the host team scored 11 straight points to push out to a comfortable lead 12-6 lead. Madison County then turned things up a notch by rallying back to within three points late to close the margin to 24-21. East Hall closed the set and won the match by dropping in the game winning point to take the 25-21 win and 2-0 match win.

The Raiders will return to action on Tuesday night as they again travel to Gainesville to face Chestatee and Monroe Area in region matches beginning at 5:00.   

Raiders' comeback falls short against Prince

The varsity Volley Raiders stood their ground against region 6-A Prince Avenue at home on Wednesday night, but came up on the opposite end of victory. The Raiders dropped the first set 22-25 and battled to five ties in the set second eventually losing to Prince 21-25 and the overall match 0-2. Madison County trailed 12-1 at the start of the first set but rallied to get back into the contest in what turned out to be just a three point loss. Prince Avenue broke a 20-20 tie with a string of five unanswered points to capture the win in the second set in what was perhaps Madison County’s best performance this season. The Raiders had answers for just about every spike the Wolverines hit at them. Madison County played tough throughout the second set but simply couldn’t hang on after Prince scored the final five unanswered points.

The junior varsity squad fell 0-2 to Prince Avenue (15-25 and 14-25) in earlier action. Madison County will travel to Gainesville on Thursday to face East Hall and Rabun County (Varsity only) before visiting Chestatee next Tuesday.

Volley Raiders return home but lose twice

The Volleyball varsity Raiders returned home Tuesday night for the first time since the opening season match a month ago. The Raiders faced two region foes, Johnson and Walnut Grove, and came up on the losing end of each match. The varsity Raiders defeated Johnson in the first of three sets 25-20 and held a 6-1 lead in the second set but ended up on the losing end of a 25-20 score. With the split sets, the varsity squad had to play Johnson in a final and deciding third set. Johnson took the deciding set by a 25-16 score to win the overall match.

The varsity Raiders then faced a tough Walnut Grove team and the result wasn’t good as Madison County fell 0-2 by set scores of 15-25 and 14-25.

The junior varsity jumped out of the gate early in what turned out to be their first home match of the season. The JV Raiders defeated Johnson easily after running away with a 20-8 lead eventually winning the opening set 25-12. The JV Raiders then took the second set 25-11 to complete the sweep and take the match win. The JV Raiders were swept in the nightcap losing to Walnut Grove 25-16 and 27-25 in a heartbreaker. Madison County failed to hang on to a 16-5 lead in the second set allowing Walnut Grove to comeback and claim the set and match win.

The Volley Raiders will remain home on Wednesday night as they face Prince Avenue before hitting the road again on Thursday to face East Hall in Gainesville.