Erratic serving helps erase New Kent volleyball upset opportunity

Lady Trojans Tiffany Tolley (10) and Kaitlyn Claytor just miss blocking a Jamestown hit in Tuesday night's volleyball clash.

Alan Chamberlain photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans appeared to master most of volleyball’s crucial fundamentals while entertaining Jamestown’s perennially powerful Eagles Tuesday night. But the hosts fell short in one category, ultimately leading to their undoing. Lady Trojan missed serves popping up at inopportune times helped the Eagles avoid an upset on the way to a 25-21, 25-15, 27-25 win.

“We missed a lot of serves,” said Lady Trojan coach Cyndi Burnett. “I told them, ‘Ladies, you’ve got to get your serves in.’”

Four errant serves in game one negated chances to either extend a slim lead (twice), forge a tie, or pull within one of the Eagles in the late going. That final missed serve handed Jamestown a 21-19 advantage, and the guests held on from there.

“We started out game two the same way,” moaned Burnett.

Serving problems coupled with other errors contributed to the Eagles’ early 11-1 lead. New Kent showed sparks of brilliance afterward, but the initial deficit proved too much to overcome.

“What have you got to do to tell high school girls to get their serves in?” posed Burnett. “Everything else we did well. Our setting was good, our hitting was good as were our digs. The serving was disappointing, but that’s an easy thing to correct. They’ve just got to get their heads into it.”

New Kent bounced back from the lackluster game two effort. Led by front line players Sydney Griffith and Kaitlyn Claytor (7 kills apiece for the match) and setters Emiley Angle (13) and Cortney Pickett (7), the hosts vaulted in front. Claytor’s second of a team-high two blocks extended the lead to 10-6. And for a short time, the defense, led by Jada Evans’ 11 digs on the night, held off the invaders.

Jamestown, however, chipped away at the New Kent advantage, overtaking the hosts at 15-15. Eight ties and three lead changes ensued down the stretch. An errant Jamestown hit placed the Lady Trojans a point away from extending the match (24-23), but a failed blocking attempt followed by an Eagle shot that found a soft spot in the hosts’ defense put the visitors back in command. New Kent evened the affair at 25-25, but back-to-back errors in blocking and passing sealed the hosts’ fate.

“It could have been a lot worse,” said Burnett, whose team fell to 3-2 versus Bay Rivers competition and 6-4 overall. “[The Eagles] have a lot of height and they have a lot of weapons, but we showed a lot of poise and determination tonight.”