COURTLAND
Both varsity and junior varsity volleyball teams finished strong in the regular season, racking up multiple wins over the last few games.

On Oct. 21, varsity defeated King’s Fork with scores of 25-21, 25-13 and 25-20.

“I felt like the team as a whole played well on Wednesday, bouncing back from a hard-fought match against Park View the night before,” coach Amy Davis said. “King’s Fork had a very athletic team with a lot of height, but we were still able to control the game with our offense starting off with good passing.”

Highlights of the game included Courtney Vinson and Danielle Moore, who each earned 10 assists; Emma Drake with three aces and seven kills; Jenna Billups with six kills and one ace; and Madison Wright with five digs and one save.

“It took us awhile to adjust because of the extent of intensity we played with the night before, but after we got back into our zones, we played like a team,” said senior captain Peyton Bunn.

Senior Ann Jackson Edwards said, “In the King’s Fork game, we had to do a little bit of adjusting, but we worked well together and stayed positive throughout the game. We all supported each other and worked hard.”

The Indians then defeated the Tigers on Thursday, Oct. 22, in an away game with scores of 25-8, 25-23 and 25-7.

“We improved on serving,” Davis continued. “We only missed six serves on Wednesday, compared to 11 on Tuesday against Park View and only three on Thursday against Sussex.”

Stats from the game included Erin Rountree with six kills; Courtney Vinson with 13 assists and five aces; Emma Drake with seven aces and seven kills; and Danielle Moore with nine aces and nine kills.

“On Thursday we had to adjust in midgame. We had people in different positions but once we got the handle on the situation, we played hard and came out with our win,” Bunn said.

Edwards added, “I think that in the game against Sussex, we all did a great job of adjusting to different rotations and working well with one another. We didn’t play our best in the second set, but overall we played well and worked together for the victory.”

Senior Allie Holt said, “After a tough loss against our biggest rival Park View on Tuesday, the team was determined to be victorious against King’s Fork on Wednesday and Sussex Central on Thursday. Throughout both of these matches, we fought hard the entire way. At times, we faltered and let our opponents’ gain a few points, but we ended with W’s on both, just like I knew we would.”

The next couple of wins for the Indians came from the junior varsity team who played in a tournament on Saturday.

“The junior varsity defeated Nansemond River High School 2-1, led by Ashlyn Edwards perfect serving game in the third set 15-0,” Davis said.

Sophomore Ashlyn Edwards said, “I was proud of the ladies on my team for all the hard work they put forward. In the deciding set, I went back to serve 15 points in a row. A few times, Nansemond River did get the ball back over, but we worked hard to win the point. As a team, we all have come a long way since the beginning of the season.”

Junior varsity then defeated King’s Fork in the tournament 2-0.

The last wins came from both varsity and junior varsity that defeated Franklin on Tuesday night.

“Overall, I was happy with both varsity and junior varsity’s play last night,” Davis said.

Scores for the varsity game were 25-11, 25-15 and 25-13. The victory for these games came from Courtney Vinson with six aces and 10 kills; Jenna Billups with three aces, three assists and seven kills; Emma Drake with four assists and nine kills; Madison Wright with five digs; Sarah Williams with seven aces and two kills.

“In the varsity match I was very pleased with the girls’ ability to be flexible throughout the game and make the adjustments necessary to win the game,” Davis added. “I told the girls it’s important to remember that regardless of what position you are in, it’s important to continue to focus on communication, passing, creating offense, court movement and intensity.”

Sophomore Emma Drake said, “Last night we played really well as a team. A few girls played positions they haven’t played yet, but we all came together and came out with a win.”

Sophomore Madison Wright added, “We played great as a team in all three sets. We worked really hard to set the ball up as much as possible. I am super proud of my team.”

Junior varsity scores for the game against Franklin were 25-16, 20-25 and 15-3.

Highlights from the game included Ashlyn Edwards with two aces and seven assists; Hannah Bradshaw with three kills; Hilary Newlon with three aces; and Jamey and Jacey Bunn, who both had four aces.

“During the second set the junior varsity girls were able to get in a lot of girls that haven’t had an opportunity to get a lot of court time this season,” Davis said. “Although they came up short on the scoreboard they gained a lot of game experience that will carry them to next season. In the third set, the girls came out with determination to get the victory and accomplished just that.”

Conference tournament play for the teams will begin on Monday, Nov. 2.