Rematch in Class 3 state semifinals set for Tuesday
YORK – The Grafton girls volleyball team survived its first scare from a local team this season but used a late surge to come back and defeat New Kent 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 15-9) and win the Region 3A championship on Tuesday night at their home gym.
With the win, the Clippers (24-2) will begin the state Class 3 quarterfinals on Saturday at home against Warren County, the Region 3B runner-up. However, New Kent (22-3) will face 3B champion Kettle Run, and if they win, the next game will be a rematch of Tuesday’s 3A championship – a match that the Trojans could have won.
New Kent gained momentum quickly, building an early seven-point lead as the Clippers committed one unforced error after another. Leah Rounds made her presence known with an early ace, and seniors Kendall White, Mackenzie Loveland, and Fallon Greenawalt eased into their positions as the visitors raced to a 25-18 first set victory.
In spite of losing their previous two matches to Grafton 3-0 and 3-1, the Trojans were ready. And this was no accident, according to New Kent coach Stuart Burnett, who with his wife Cynthia have coached the team for 37 years.
“We had two weeks off after the Bay Rivers schedule,” said Burnett “and our four senior captains looked at a lot of tape of Grafton, especially from their match against York. We found out how to build our strengths and minimize theirs.”
Their strategy worked. A series of kills from Grafton’s Kenzie Smith, Alana Washington, and sophomore Ana Breckons helped the Clippers win the second set by four, but New Kent charged back with their variety of heavy hitters to claim the third set 25-21. Their momentum carried into the fourth set as they were ahead 9-3, and then 18-11, putting them on the verge of winning the match and regional title.
But the hosts stormed back. A kill by Smith started an 11-4 run highlighted by key shots from Washington, who stretched her 5’7” frame far above the net to land several clean kills, along with a couple of push shots by Breckons, the second of which closed the lead to 20-18. A return by Peyton Hall dropped in front of the right-side player for New Kent, and Smith’s return tied the score at 22. Another New Kent return slammed into the net giving Grafton its first lead of the set at 24-23 and they won the match point to tie the contest at two games each.
Asked about being on the brink of losing to a Bay Rivers opponent for the first time this season, the responses were similar.
“It was crazy. It was kind of stressful, but we all had jobs to do and we did them,” said Breckons.
Added Washington, the senior who delivered numerous clutch shots in the fourth set, “It was super stressful, but we knew we could come back and win, and we did.”
Fellow senior Kaylie Klemm noted, “This was the first team that has put up a fight.” Note – the Clipper losses were best-of-three matches to Bishop O’Connell of the prestigious Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, and Northwest Bilingual Academy of DC at the Endless Summer tournament on September 14.
Smith finished with 19 kills, while Washington added 16. Ally Burke scooped 36 digs. Olivia De La Cruz led the squad with 22 assists and Klemm finished with 17. For New Kent, Rounds led the team with 17 kills while Loveland dispensed 40 assists to go with 12 digs.
