COURTLAND—Southampton Academy volleyball continued its dominance in the Virginia Commonwealth Conference Tuesday night with a 25-17, 25-15, 25-16 victory over Brunswick Academy in the first round of the VCC tournament.

The Lady Raiders (21-1 overall, 17-0 VCC) advance to the semifinal round of the tournament at Brunswick Academy Thursday. SA will play either Kenston Forest or Christchurch. The VCC championship game will be held Saturday at 4 p.m. at Brunswick Academy.

The Lady Raiders, who were ranked third in the VISAA Division III standings before Tuesday night’s match, will likely host a state playoff game next week.

Tuesday night’s match was a continuation of the 16-0 regular season VCC schedule. The strong play of Lindsay Raulston and Forrest Best gave the Lady Raiders an early advantage. Raulston recorded 10 assists, 10 kills, 14 serves in, and two aces. Best had two aces and nine kills.

Game one saw SA up 14-10 when Best had four straight services points to put the game away. Southampton Academy trailed 6-3 in game two before finishing out with a 22-9 run. Game three saw SA jump out to an 18-5 lead.

Terry Bell, SA head coach, said her team played an average game Tuesday night.

“We played some really strong points, but we had some position issues,” Bell said. “Some games we have issues with starting and getting up.”

Although SA has dominated the conference, Bell said the VCC has improved.

“We did win the conference, but the competition is stronger. Fuqua, Richmond Christian, and Christchurch are tough.”