On Thursday, the North Forsyth Raiders volleyball team returned to the court to face region rival, the Lambert Longhorns, looking to remain unbeaten in region play ahead of their next region matchup with defending state champions, the Alpharetta Raiders, also yet to suffer a region loss.
Entering the night with the momentum of a four match win streak behind them, having not dropped a set, the Raiders would take the opening set by a final of 25-17 for the 1-0 lead in the best of five match. With set two underway, North Forsyth would open on a 6-0 run before the Longhorns would get within three points after a 7-5 run of their own to make it an 11-8 lead in favor of the Raiders.
However Lambert would fall short as the Raiders would would close out the set outscoring the Longhorns to once again win the set 25-17, taking a 2-0 lead in the match. In set three, the Longhorns would manage to keep the score tight, leading twice in the set, but after going up 14-13, Lambert would see the Raiders finish the set on a 12-3 run in route to winning the match 3-0.
"I saw us finally go consistently to our middle and kind of open that up and that was good to see because I think we've been struggling going there," North Forsyth head coach, Kaylee Crumley said following the Raiders win as she praised he r players for find success in an area the team looked to address.
"Against a solid team that's coached and has really good ball control, it was cool to see that opening up for our pins and stuff," Crumley said of the Raiders effort to run a "balanced offense" which they were able to accomplish on Thursday. "We got a good look at that," Crumley added.
With the win, North Forsyth improved to 17-2 overall and 4-0 in the Georgia High School Association Class 6A Region 6 standings and Crumley credits the connection between her players for the success they have been able to have this season. "They are all super close and all get along on and off the court and I think that pays volumes and dividends into ow we play as," Crumley said.
"All season so far we've been really trusting each other to do our job and be consistent in what we're doing and I think that's helped us play cohesively as a team," Crumley added.