Second straight marathon volleyball match fails to bounce New Kent’s way

Lady Trojan Mattie Thornton spikes over the blocking attempt by Lafayette's Abby Oren.

Alan Chamberlain photo

Losing the first two sets in best-of-five competition isn’t a customary winning formula for New Kent’s Lady Trojans or, for that matter, any other volleyball team. But that scenario played out for New Kent this week— not once, but twice.

Tuesday night, the Lady Trojans bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to sweep three straight sets in vanquishing Poquoson’s visiting Islanders. Thursday night, however, a similar situation didn’t work out as well against Lafayette’s invading Rams.

The Rams posted 25-19 and 25-16 wins before building a 10-3 advantage in the third set, but the Lady Trojans prevailed 25-22 to force a fourth which they won 25-20. The hosts led early in the fifth and final set before Lafayette surged to the front for a 15-11 decision that spoiled New Kent’s Senior Night celebration.

“Having two matches like that in one week is pretty unusual and it’s pretty hopeful for us to win twice, but the girls never gave up and kept on fighting,” said Lady Trojan coach Cyndi Burnett.

“Our serving was consistent and we got some critical blocks,” she said. “There were lots of momentum shifts and we were doing some good things, but we just couldn’t quite do enough at the end.”

Down by seven early in the third set, New Kent seemed destined to become victim to a Ram sweep. But Zoe Smith’s kill, one of her 20 on the night, triggered the hosts’ comeback.

In the server’s spot, Jada Evans delivered a trio of aces, the third of which overtook the Rams at 11-all. Back-to-back Lucy Adamson aces built a 15-12 New Kent lead. The Rams responded with a 6-0 run, but a Jenna Helt kill and two Tiffany Tolley aces evened the affair at 18-18.

New Kent broke the final deadlock (22-22) on a Smith kill. Driving consecutive shots out of bounds on the part of the Rams closed out the set, keeping the hosts in the contest.

Neither team could gain separation in the fourth set until New Kent broke an 18-18 deadlock on a Smith kill. A Ram error followed by a Tolley ace opened a three-point lead. Lafayette got one point back, but three straight Smith kills put the set out of reach.

Another Tolley ace and Smith kill opened the decisive fifth set on a positive note for the hosts. But Lafayette moved in front to stay at 5-4 on the way to an 11-7 advantage. New Kent never drew closer than two the rest of the way and ended the regular season at 11-11.

Bryanna Seay managed 39 assists along with three aces. Helt and Tolley both had eight kills and four aces while Helt blocked three shots. Lexie Butler led with five blocks while Evans recorded a team-high five aces. On defense, Evans produced 29 digs followed by Smith’s 13 and Seay’s 11.