Grafton Volleyball Reaches Conference 18 Finals With Win Over Lafayette; Will Meet Jamestown in Final

In related news, Jamestown did defeat Grafton to win the Conference 18 final over Grafton last night, but both teams will be in the 4A South region tournament, which will begin next week.

YORK – With a 4A South regional berth on the line, the Grafton girls volleyball team survived a pesky challenge from Lafayette for the first two sets, then rolled through the third set to sweep the Rams 25-22, 25-20, 25-14.

With the win, the second seeded Clippers (21-4) will travel to top seeded Jamestown (18-3) on Thursday for the Conference 18 final. Jamestown swept Smithfield on Wednesday to earn their place in the conference final. Last week, Grafton defeated the Eagles 25-21, 25-23, 25-15.

Speaking about the possibility of a second straight win against Jamestown, Grafton coach Karissa Cumberbatch preferred to look toward the 4A South Region tournament next week.

“We’re hyped, but there’s no pressure tomorrow. We just have to play our game and take care of our side of the floor. Next week is what matters.”

The first set followed a pattern after the initial 14 points seesawed back and forth. With the score tied at seven, Grafton scored the next four points, and seemed to be gaining the momentum. But the Rams clawed back, not once, but on three separate occasions. Their last run narrowed a 20-16 Clipper margin to 22-all. But Grafton closed the door, scoring the set’s final three points, with Sophia Beaudoin providing the set-ending kill.

The second set was tight throughout. Lafayette relied on their heavy hitter Abby Orem, while Grafton countered with recent CNU-signee Rachel Blitt. Blitt delivered the key kills to keep the Clippers in the set. But with a tie at 17, Sam Heard took control, accounting for an ace and kill as part of a 4-0 Clipper surge that served as an impetus for Grafton to hold on and win Set 2.

The Grafton servers also performed well against Lafayette.

“We serve teams tough, and put balls away. Kaitlyn Young was particularly tough tonight, with lots of serving runs. She must have had at least three aces,” added Cumberbatch.

The third and final set was all Grafton. On one particular exchange, the Clippers first two hits of a return sent the ball sailing way backwards and over the back line. With a burst of speed, Haley Sutton ran ten feet behind the back line and with her back to the net, sent a powerful return back over her head and over the net, a shot which stunned the Rams and fell to the ground to give the Clippers a 9-3 lead which they would not relinquish.

Lafayette coach Lee Thornhill could only praise the team concept, while pointing out his two best players.

“We rely heavily on Abby (Orem) and Julia Howard. The Abby-Julia combination will cover a lot of deficiencies. But they couldn’t overcome the six players on the other side of the net tonight.”

Grafton def. Lafayette 25-22, 25-20, 25-14

Grafton (21-4): Sophia Beaudoin (6 kills, 19 digs), Rachel Blitt (11 kills, ace, 4 digs, 5 blocks), Haley Sutton (11 digs). Lafayette (12-10): Abby Orem (15 kills, 12 digs), Julia Howard (23 assists, 8 digs).