New Kent survives Bruton scare, wins volleyball home opener

New Kent's Tiffany Tolley (10) and Zoe Smith (3) form a blockade against Bruton's Mykael Johnson spike attempt.

Andre' Jones photo

After seven games on the road to start the 2015-16 season, New Kent Lady Trojans’ volleyball team returned to the confines of its home gymnasium. And after winning the opening sets against the invading Bruton Lady Panthers, it was apparent the travel took a toll of the team.

Surviving a scare in set three, New Kent went on to sweep the visitors 25-15, 25-16, and 26-24 during Tuesday night’s Bay Rivers clash.

Sets one and two followed similar patterns to give the hosts an early advantage in the contest. In the opening frame, New Kent pulled out early only for the visitors to narrow the margin to three (18-15). It was then behind the serving of senior Cortney Pickett that the Lady Trojans scored seven consecutive points to win set one. In set two, the hosts used a long rally to take a 19-13 lead. Paige Simpson would propel the hosts with two aces to win that stanza.

But in set three, the visitors refused to fold to New Kent. Trailing 24-19 with New Kent threatening to win, the Lady Panthers orchestrated a 5-0 run, punctuated with a spike from Makayla Johnson to knot the game at 24. The hosts regrouped behind senior leadership of Pickett and Sydney Griffith. Griffith’s spike put the hosts back in front to stay, while Pickett’s ace on the final serve was enough to gain victory for the hosts.

After the match, Lady Trojan head coach Cyndi Burnett said while she appreciated the victory, the lack of execution on the offensive end had to improve.

“Our offense was flat and our sets were off tonight,” commented Burnett. “We couldn’t get into any groove.

“We were letting Bruton creep back in during that last set because we made a lot of unforced errors such as hitting the ball out of bounds,” she continued. “We just weren’t creating our normal offense.”

Burnett did speak about the crucial serves that helped the team jump out to early leads throughout the match.

“Cortney [Pickett] and Paige’s [Simpson] serves were crucial for us tonight,” Burnett said. “I know we can play better and I know that we have the confidence and talent to play better than what we did tonight.

“I think it may have been the long holiday break but I expect these girls to come out and correct the things they need to before our next contest,” the head coach concluded.

New Kent improves to 6-2 on the year, while Bruton falls to 0-3.