Lady Trojans put up fierce battle but fall to Grafton

Lady Trojans Lexie Butler (13) and Jenna Helt leap in an attempt to block a spike delivered by Grafton's Sam Heard.

Alan Chamberlain photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans shook off a dismal performance earlier this season at Grafton to mount a serious challenge for the powerful Clippers (14-3) in Tuesday’s volleyball rematch on New Kent’s floor.

Grafton swept the affair in three sets, but were pushed to the limit by the hosts. The Clippers prevailed by narrow scores of 25-23, 25-20, 27-25.

“When we played at Grafton, it was horrible,” said Lady Trojan coach Cyndi Burnett. “So we changed our offense and defense for tonight and we played well. I’m very pleased.

“It sure would have been nice to at least taken a game from them, but we were right there with them,” she added.

All three sets remained close throughout with neither team managing more than a five-point lead at any time during the match.

New Kent appeared to have the edge in the opening set after Zoe Smith and Kaitlyn Claytor kills helped open a 12-9 advantage. But Grafton crept back, breaking a final 19-19 deadlock on a Sam Heard kill. Another Claytor kill pulled the hosts within one (24-23) before a Haley Sutton shot ended the set.

The Clippers led for most of the second set, but the third became a nip-and-tuck battle featuring 15 ties and nine lead changes. Lexie Butler’s block and a Tiffany Tolley ace staked New Kent to a 14-11 lead. But similar to the opening set, Grafton rallied, overtaking their hosts at 15-15 on a Sutton ace.

Deadlocked at 24-all, a controversial call on an apparent Claytor spike kill took away the tie-breaking point in favor of a replay. Instead of New Kent owning a 25-24 lead, a Heard kill on the replay handed advantage to the Clippers.

Smith’s kill on a shot from the back line overtook the Clippers, but only momentarily. Lisa O’Grady’s spike sailed out of bounds, but the ball was tipped by a New Kent player to put Grafton back in front. The match ended on Claytor’s spike out of bounds.

Smith and Claytor led New Kent (9-8) with 11 and nine kills, respectively. Smith also led in digs (12) and delivered three aces while Claytor had six digs.

Bryanna Seay topped New Kent in assists with 14 while Torii Pickett dished out eight. Jenna Helt served up four aces, and Jada Evans recorded nine digs.