Eaton beats Valley in first game of the season

Sydney Booth|September 5, 2017

Reds defeat Valley in tight fourth set

In a heated match fueled by an electric crowd, Eaton beat Valley 3-1 in its first game of the season on August 31. Eaton pulled away at the end of the first set, scoring 25-21. Using this momentum, Eaton dominated the second set, 25-13. Constantly trading points in the third set, Valley pushed the match to four sets when it won the third 25-21. The fourth set was more of the same, but the Reds fought for a 25-22 win.

Stand out players for the Reds were Makenzie Harris (19) with 19 kills, Ana Scott (18) with 13 kills, and Darcie Kaiser (18) with 10 kills, according to Maxpreps. “When we had energy we played really well,” Harris said, “so we need to work on staying up the entire match.” Kaiser said, “We need to work on communication more and talk to each other on the court, especially on serve-receive.”

Libero Kynna Gentry (20) lead the team in digs with 16, along with Chelsey Lockey (18) and Scott, each with 13. Alexis Lamoreaux (18) led in blocks with four solo blocks and three block assists. Lamoreaux stuff-blocked two back-row attacks in a row early in the fourth set, giving the Reds added momentum. Kaiser and Kennedi Ingram (18) also came up with a key block on an outside attack at 21-19 in the fourth set, causing Valley to take a timeout. Ingram said, “It was fun to be out with the team and find connections with each other. We just need to work on fundamentals, like picking up tips.”

Toby Gavette high-fives Austin Coalson as CJ Blaskowski jumps out of his seat to celebrate a Makenzie Harris kill, who had 19 kills on the night. Students dressed for a white out and provided constant crowd energy.

Head coach Gwen Forster said, “Definitely our defense needs to be better because I think we are a good defensive team, but we just weren’t coming together on plays, so it’s just uncertainty and doubt we have to wash away to be better.”

Up next, Eaton will play Faith Christian at home on September 5. According to Maxpreps, the Eagles are 2-0 in league play.