New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 28, 2024

Lady Trojans capitalize off Bruton errors, wins in four

By Robb Johnson | October 4, 2017 12:27 am

New Kent Lexi Batkins prepares to return a ball across the net.

Robb Johnson photo

After falling to Bruton in an early season encounter, New Kent’s Lady Trojans looked to reverse its fortunes during an Oct. 3 home matchup. For the hosts, taking advantage of errors by the visiting Lady Panthers proved as a key point.

New Kent dropped Bruton 28-26, 25-20, 13-25, and 25-22 in the hard fought for set affair.

The first frame of the volleyball duel consisted of a fierce back-and-forth battle with neither team giving an edge. Trailing 26-25, New Kent’s Jada Evans emerged to give the Lady Trojans a lift. A kill combined with back-to-back hits gave the set to the hosts. Serving errors by Bruton in the following frame gave the hosts a two-set advantage.

But Bruton took advantage of a lackadaisical Lady Trojan team. Bruton quickly raced past New Kent to win set three. A hangover continued for the hosts, as they found themselves in a nine-point hole (7-16) midway through the fourth frame. However, New Kent swung momentum back into their favor, establishing an impressive 18-6 run thanks to errors committed by Bruton serves and the Lady Trojans countering with serving attacks of their own.

After the contest, Lady Trojan head coach Cynthia Burnett’s face told the story of the contest.

“When we were down [in set 4] I told my players that we needed one point at a time and could not rush things,” she said. “Their switches were allowing us to make moves on offense.

“Along with their poor serving, that cost [Bruton] tonight and we took advantage of their critical mistakes,” Burnett added. “We had to serve well tonight and we did.”

Evans accumulated 10 kills and 11 digs to lead New Kent (11-5) to a win. Bryanna Seay had 15 assists, Alaina Torres had four aces, and Lexie Butler orchestrated four blocks.