New Kent eases past Bruton

Bruton’s Panthers are an exception to the rule in the traditionally volleyball-rich Bay Rivers District. New Kent’s host Lady Trojans found that out in the early going of their Aug. 31 match with the Panthers.

The Lady Trojans scored the first 17 points in game one of the best of five affair and remained in cruise control the rest of the way for an easy 25-3, 25-6, 25-11 victory.

“I subbed deep, deep, deep,” New Kent coach Cyndi Burnett said afterward. “And we took a lot off our serves, but still it was a serve-fest for us.”

After the Panthers lost game-opening service, New Kent’s Emma Ciaravino served the hosts into a 17-0 lead. The run featured four Ciaravino aces and spike kills compliments of Amanda Branch and Meagan Clark, but Panther errors accounted for most of New Kent’s points.

Games two proved to be more of the same as the hosts vaulted to an 18-1 advantage. Game three became a bit more competitive with the Panthers only four down midway through at 13-9. But the Lady Trojans distanced themselves behind Makenzie McNamara’s serve and kills at the net by Sarah Barnett and Sarah Crumbly to take a 20-9 lead. Ashley’s Pierce’s ace closed out the match.

“The good thing was the bench got a lot of quality playing time,” Burnett said. “This match won’t help us down the road when we play the tough teams, but sometimes you need a game like this to get everybody in.”

New Kent, now 1-0 in Bay Rivers and 2-0 overall, got eight assists, five aces, and three kills off the bench from Gina Sledd and six aces, two digs, and a kill from Krystal Jones, also off the bench. Karley Allen, a starter, managed five kills and seven digs while Ciaravino, the starting setter, contributed five assists and eight aces.