Jamestown towers over New Kent in straight sets

By Andre Jones | October 10, 2013 12:40 pm

Lady Trojan D’Aysa Jones (11) leaps to challenge Jamestown’s frontline duo of Kelly Esch and Alex Walther as teammate Sydney Griffith (13) readies herself in a supporting position.

Andre' Jones photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans had a tall task ahead of them when powerhouse Jamestown rolled into town Tuesday. And by tall, we’re speaking of the visiting Lady Eagles front line.

Sisters Maria and Kelly Esch, along with senior teammate Alex Walther, all whom stand 5’10” or taller, used their height advantage in propelling Jamestown (14-1) to a 25-11, 25-16, 25-18 sweep of the Lady Trojans (11-4).

The Esch sisters made their mark early, combining to score four of the team’s first seven points in the opening set and forcing Lady Trojan head coach Cyndi Burnett to call a quick timeout. The hosts were unable to get the offense going, as the taller defenders blocked a majority of spike attempts while capitalizing on their own on to claiming the first set.

New Kent senior Gina Sledd put the team on the right track to open up the second set. After falling 2-0, Sledd services netted the hosts eight straight points, highlighted with a kill by teammate Brianne Wayman. However, Jamestown crept back into the game to knot the game at 13 apiece before pulling away in the second frame.

The third stanza saw Jamestown jump out to an 8-2 lead, but New Kent rallied behind Katie Ilch’s serves to tie the game at eight. The guest failed to be deterred, shaking off the pesky Lady Trojans final attempts and surviving the final frame 25-18.

After the game, Burnett had high praise for her team, knowing the opponent’s height would complicate the team’s approach.

“I thought we played really good,” said Burnett. “We didn’t have troubles with their serves and we had a respectable game.

“We tried to hit the ball to their setter to take them out the game,” continued the coach, speaking on strategy she learned from two teams’ earlier encounter at Jamestown. “We gave it our best shot and played against a really good team.”