New Kent struggling on court, drops volleyball contest to Lady Islanders

New Kent’s Ava Nieto (2) attempts to deliver a kill over the net against a Poquoson defender.

Robb Johnson photo

After starting the season undefeated, New Kent Lady Trojans’ volleyball team has run into a rough patch, dropping two of their last three contests. The visiting Poquoson Lady Islanders wasn’t going to let New Kent’s struggles factor into their performance.

New Kent suffered their third defeat in four contests, falling to Poquoson 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 16-25 in the Oct. 2 contest.

After the Lady Trojans won the first set, they found themselves point-to-point in the second frame. Tied at 18 apiece, a service error by New Kent resulted in a point for Poquoson. Two aces by Lady Islander Sierra Morse increased the visitors lead to three. From there, Poquoson held on to capture the set.

In the third frame, New Kent held a 10-5 lead after a Desirae Stowe ace. But the offensive woes continued for the hosts, as Poquoson orchestrated an 8-3 run. New Kent battled back, trailing the visitors by one (22-23) when Carly Sachs’ spike and score for the hosts tied the game at 23 apiece. But Poquoson targeted the back row of the Lady Trojans, resulting in two more points for the Lady Islanders to win the third set.

In the fourth set, New Kent once again held a small lead when Poquoson put together a 14-2 run. The Lady Trojans attempted to fight back late with kills from Ava Nieto and Reagan Hailey Robinson, but the gap was too great as the Lady Islanders walked out the gym with the win.

Nieto led New Kent with 13 kills, while Sachs and Stowe led the team in aces with five each.

New Kent falls to 9-3 in the season.