Undefeated Grafton keeps New Kent in check with sweep in straight sets

New Kent’s Brooklyn Wiles launches herself at the ball with an overhead shot to keep it in play.

Robb Johnson photo

For New Kent’s Lady Trojans, one of their key factors on making a run to a state title is by facing tough competition. For the hosts, it gets no tougher than Bay Rivers District powerhouse and multi-time state champion Grafton.

The visiting Lady Clippers proved their moniker of being a state champion, downing New Kent 13-25, 17-25, 18-25 in Tuesday night’s contest.

In the opening set, New Kent struggled to find any offensive momentum despite remaining close. The Lady Trojans closed the gap early after scores by Reagan Hailey Robinson and Ava Nieto cut Grafton’s lead to two (11-9). However, Grafton capitalized off an error to regain control. From there, Lady Clipper Kenzie Smith began dominating at the net with kills to stretch the visitors’ advantage to 15-10 before capturing the first set.

In the next stanza, Grafton jumped out to a 4-0 lead before New Kent executed its first rally of the contest. A 10-6 run tied the score at 10 apiece thanks to keen serving by the Lady Trojans. New Kent gained their first lead of the night at 13-12 after a Grafton error. But that lead was short lived as Olivia Cruz’s set for Smith launched a 7-2 run for the Lady Clippers, as they went on to win the set.

The third frame consisted of a more competitive back-and-forth error, as New Kent’s Desirae Stowe’s ace helped increase the home team’s lead to 15-13. But Grafton had an answer to every New Kent score, as Alivia Breckons delivered another spike and score, initiating a 11-3 run to close out the contest and complete the sweep for the undefeated Lady Clippers.

After the contest, New Kent Head Coach Stuart Burnett spoke about the lessons his team learned after the game.

“I felt that we played well this entire match against a great team,” he commented. “We scored and never gave up.

“We had blocks and overall, I was happy with our attitude on the court,” Burnett continued. “They are a good match up for us to play the top team in Class 4A as we head into the regional playoffs next week.”

New Kent’s record stands at 15-4.