KENNEBUNK — The hosting Kennebunk volleyball team cruised to a win over Thornton Academy in three sets Tuesday evening.

The Rams dominated for much of the contest, winning by scores of 25-18, 25-8 and 25-16.

After coming off a 3-0 loss to red-hot Biddeford, the Rams were determined to get things on the right track.

“(It was) real important,” said Kennebunk coach Craig Richardson. “We played well against Biddeford but they’re so strong and we weren’t able to beat them. We took that same momentum here and played our game. It was almost mistake-free, we played smart ball.”

Much of the Rams’ success stemmed from the serve, racking up 18 aces on the day.

“We were making the right plays at the right time and then our serving came alive. (TA) didn’t have an answer for many of our servers, so when they were struggling with passing our servers were adding the points up,” said Richardson.

Junior Emily Hickey had a big night for Kennebunk, leading the team in aces with seven, and kills with eight.

“Our entire front row played tough, Emily Hickey made some big hits in the front, we also had some nice blocks too. It was a complete win all the way around,” said Richardson.

The Trojans came out sharp in the first set, quickly taking a 12-9 lead. The Rams would then come alive, going on a 16-6 tear and taking the first set.

The Rams carried their momentum into the second set, beginning by jumping out to a 9-0 lead. Kennebunk’s Amelia Nelson served nine consecutive times in the tear, racking up two aces while Hickey collected three kills.

Kennebunk would continue to add to its lead, eventually pushing the score to 19-5. Hickey would tally four straight aces during the scoring flurry and the Rams would close out the second set 25-8.

The Trojans would not go out quietly though, taking a 5-3 lead to start the third set. As the final series went on, the Rams heated up and managed to take the set 25-16 to secure the win.

Despite the loss, a handful of Trojans had solid outings for TA. Kimberly Grant, Sarah Casey and Kimberly Banville all recorded aces for TA, while Johnna Scott and Hannah Dill collected kills.

Kennebunk’s Samantha Witkus tallied three aces, while Saraphina Birtolo added three kills, along with Britta Brown who totaled two kills and two aces.

Richardson was proud of the way his team served, considering the amount of focus the Rams devote to it at practice each week.

“We work on that every practice. We serve a lot and we make sure we are passing those serves. When you have a team that serves as well as we do and you’re passing those serves in practice, you’re pretty much ready for any serve. That just carries through,” said Richardson.

Kennebunk improves to 4-4 on the year, and hopes to make a final push for a playoff spot.

“They love playing volleyball so they just want to go out there and play,” said Richardson. “We know now we’re in a good spot at 4-4 so we’re right in the midst of the playoff hunt. They know if we take of business and play well then the playoffs are in the future for us and I think that showed in the way they played.”

— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.