New Kent closes out regular season with thrilling Senior Night sweep of Jamestown

New Kent’s Carly Sachs (6) uses a change in tactics to tap the ball over the outstretched hands of Jamestown’s Sophia Mayes.

Robb Johnson photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans’ volleyball team has only lost three times this year, with one of those contests being a five-set thriller at Jamestown. On Oct. 29, it was New Kent who turned the table on the visiting Lady Eagles.

The homestanding Lady Trojans battled hard, outlasting Jamestown 25-21, 25-22, 25-22 to complete a sweep and close out the regular season with a win on Senior Night.

New Kent led 11-7 in the first set before Jamestown orchestrated a 6-0 run to recapture the lead. The home team responded with a 5-1 run as both teams battled. New Kent built their lead to five (20-15) with an ace from Grace Rolan. The Lady Trojans sat on the verge of match point (24-16) when Jamestown began fighting back, closing the gap to three (24-21). However, a kill by New Kent’s Reagan Hailey-Robinson squashed the comeback and gave the home team the first set of the match.

In the second stanza, both teams alternated back and forth with leads. Three aces by Lady Trojan Brooklyn Wiles not only provided the hosts a 15-14 lead but would springboard an 8-2 run for the home team. However, Jamestown refused to falter, orchestrating a 6-1 flurry of their own to cut New Kent’s advantage to two points (24-22). However, it would be Ryan Griffith’s attack at the net as her spike and score helped the home team escape with a win in set number two.

In the third frame, the Lady Trojans launched a stronger attack, with an ace Wiles followed by a kill from Hannah Brown. New Kent continued to maintain distance from Jamestown, eventually rebelling their final flurry to win the contest after great play as Carly Sachs final kill delivered the final score.

After the contest, New Kent Lady Trojans Head Coach Susan Phillips spoke about the win and the confidence it instilled in her team.

“This is a morale booster and we will carry this into our postseason,” she said. “We have the fight and we continue to come back all season.

“I felt like we had a lot of people step up in the serving game tonight as well, “Phillips concluded.

Sachs led the team with 21 kills. Wiles led the aces category with four, while Gigi Allen led the team in digs with 18.