York becomes next victim as Lady Trojans continue to rack up wins in volleyball

By Robb Johnson | September 15, 2021 7:33 pm

New Kent's Julia Hathaway (2) elevates above the net to deliver one of her nine kills on the night against York defenders.

Robb Johnson photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans volleyball team have been focused on getting better since their loss in last year’s state championship game to Rustburg. And so far this season, being locked in continues to add numbers to their win column.

New Kent topped the visiting York Lady Falcons in 25-13, 25-17, 25-12 in straight sets to notch another victory in the Sept. 14 Bay Rivers District contest.

After the hosts jumped out 6-2, York methodically battled back to cut the deficit to two (7-5) before the Lady Trojans began ramping up the pressure. Senior Julia Hathaway’s leadership saw her spikes and scores start a 5-0 run for New Kent. Additional kills from teammate Darian Mason assisted the hosts in capturing in the first set.

The second set was more competitive, as both teams exchanged scores and remained deadlocked at 10 apiece. Instead of calling a timeout, New Kent Lady Trojans head coach Cynthia Burnett let the team play through adversity. The result was Clara Foster’s tap and score followed by three aces on her next four serves to push the hosts’ advantage to five (15-10). Even though York got within three (19-16), New Kent’s Logan McKenney added a kill that turned around the momentum, resulting in capturing the set. From there, the Lady Trojans coasted comfortably in the third frame to win the match.

After the contest, Burnett said that the team has specifically been focusing on a particular facet of the game that plagued them last year.

“We have been working on our serves ever since our lost to Rustburg,” she commented. “We are trying to work on that now and do that to our opponents so when we get to the state level, we will have that ammunition.

“We are not the tallest team out there, so we are using our serving and being aggressive to make up our lack of height,” Burnett concluded.

New Kent improves to 9-1 on the season.