New Kent defeats Lafayette in volleyball encounter

New Kent's Raven Harris (right) spikes the ball for a kill against a Lafayette defender.

Robb Johnson photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans seemed to be the overwhelming favorite in Tuesday night’s matchup against the Lafayette Lady Rams. However, the visitors were game in challenging New Kent for most of the night.

But the Lady Trojans survived the contest, posting a 25-13, 16-25, 25-12, 25-21 victory in a strange but entertaining contest.

New Kent set the pace in the first set, establishing a lead that the visitors couldn’t overcome and claiming the opening set. And while holding a 16-10 lead in the second stanza, it seemed that New Kent would cruise to the victory.

But from there Lafayette blitzed the Lady Trojans with a combination of great serving and miscues by the home team. Lafayette rattled off 15 straight points, with 14 of them behind the serving of Charlie Burgess who provided three aces to tie the match at one apiece.

New Kent rebounded in the third set, utilizing an 8-2 run midway through the frame to pull away from the guests. In the fourth set, Lafayette kept pace with the hosts throughout. With the score at 20 apiece, Lady Trojan freshman Jaiden McCoy came into the game, converting two critical kills to stretch the lead for New Kent and seal the win.

New Kent head coach Cynthia Burnett provided her views of the wild contest.

“I subbed pretty deep tonight and I think we got out rhythm with unforced errors,” she said. “Once we cut down on the unforced errors, we got focused on things the game started going on our way.

“I was tickled for [Jaiden] and it was a great team effort,” Burnett continued, praising the freshman’s performance. “I appreciated her staying focused in that spot. She has just been a great kid all year for us.”

New Kent moved above the .500 mark, posting a record of 10-9.