WILLIAMSTON — The Knights got off to a fast start against the Seahawks and never took their foot off the gas as they ran away with a 25-14, 25-13, 25-15 sweep on Monday.
Riverside first-year coach James Ward has been seeking consistency from his team and on Tuesday he got it as the Knights improved to 7-1 on the year.
“Tonight was what we need to do,” Ward said. “The last few games we’ve won in three but we’ve taken a set off, today it was more of a complete match and the way we need to play from here on out.”
The Knights played a strong all-around game, but Ward was most impressed with the progress made in their serving.
“When we lost against Washington we missed about 17 or 18 serves and in the last three games we’ve missed eight (in each game),” Ward said. “We just came out and did what we have to do.”
Senior Kasey Hall led Riverside as she tallied 21 service points and led the team in assists, while D’aysa Wilson racked up 13 service points and led Riverside in kills and Lawson Perry added 14 service points.
Hall hurt her neck during the loss to the Pam Pack but on Monday looked sharp and had a solid game.
The Seahawks (2-4, 2-1 Coastal Plains) had been steadily improving, but on Monday suffered a setback.
“I really don’t think our team played like the team they are,” Southside coach Rosiland Grimes said. “We’re a lot better team than what we showed today and we’re a lot more talented then what we put forth.”
Southside got off to a slow start, falling 25-14 in the first game and never recovered.
“Our first game we were not ourselves,” Grimes said. “I was hoping we could pull it out but we never did. (Riverside) just came out ready to play today and we didn’t.”
The Seahawks will look to rebound on Thursday when it takes on Pamlico, while Riverside will hope to keep its momentum going today when it faces Northampton in its first Two Rivers Conference game of the year.