In Short: Cape Fear Volleyball endures a hard-fought loss against #5 Richard Bland.

Highlights:

The Sea Devils were excited to face off against Region 10 rivals the Richard Bland Statesmen on Friday night - a NJCAA Division II Top 20 matchup that had the Schwartz Center filled with enthusiasm upon arrival.

Richard Bland and Cape Fear both traveled to the Division II NJCAA National Championships last season representing the Region 10 Conference. Both teams have a healthy respect for each other's abilities and hard work building off of their NJCAA Tournament appearance last season and were itching for the chance to face each other in regular season play again.

Each set was a battle endured by both the Sea Devils and the Statesmen. The Sea Devils trailed the first set only by 3 points as the Statesmen capitalized on some of Cape Fear's unforced errors. In the following set, the Sea Devils continued to keep the match close as they forced the Statesmen into finishing 24-26

When some short-term, in-game injuries made an impact on the Sea Devils' lineup, Freshman London Ipsen stepped up to the plate earning 11 Kills, 2 Aces, and 7 digs for the Sea Devils. "London did an incredible job stepping into a situation that we weren't prepared for," remarks Head Volleyball Coach Colby Rosser.

While the Sea Devils continued to fight for a set victory, the Statesmen sealed the deal with a 20-25 win in the third set to finish the match in their favor.

"Despite it being a 3-set match, it was well played and kind of what we should expect from a Top 20 matchup," says Coach Colby Rosser. "Trading big blocks, big swings, big digs…and they helped expose some key areas for us to focus on moving forward."

Up Next: The Sea Devils took on the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats on Saturday, September 24th at 12PM to cap off conference play for the weekend.