Brunswick/Mt. Ararat girls volleyball player Kathleen Trapp (10) sends the ball over the outstretched hands of Lake Region’s Savannah Silke (5) in Tuesday’s match at Brunswick High School. The Dragons picked up their second win of the season, 25-12, 25-8, 25-11. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)
BRUNSWICK — Dragons head coach Kaili Phillips was looking for her team to go out and have fun on the volleyball court on Tuesday. She knows their 1-6 record does not indicate how well they’ve played this season.
Tuesday’s play came out with positive results as the Dragons won all three matches decisively, 25-12, 25-8 and 25-11 for a 3-0 win over Lake Region in high school volleyball action.
“We’ve had several losses in a row where we’ve played well and some not so well,” Phillips said. “It doesn’t really show that on the scoreboard or our record, so the point tonight was to play their best and have lots of fun and they did that.”
The Dragons jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set behind Lauren Whitlock’s serving and the front line of Kathleen Trapp, Sabrina Cooper and Chloe Coombs.
Trapp served up a couple of aces moments later and the Dragons built a 9-1 lead, prompting a Lakers timeout.
Cooper joined in on the serving after Brunswick/Mt. Ararat regained the serve, nailing a pair of aces, jumping out to a 13-2 lead.
After each team traded serves, the Lakers rattled off four straight points before Trapp’s kill between two Lake Region players gave the serve back to the Dragons, leading 16-9.
Whitlock ended the set with a pair of aces for the victory, 25-12.
In the second set, after the visitors tallied the first point, Whitlock served up the next eight points, including an ace to make it 6-1.
Using the depth of her bench, Phillips was able to bring in sophomore Jaden Lohr and junior Kassidy Dixon and insert them right onto the court.
“Volleyball is definitely a team sport. You can’t just have one person playing well, they all need to play well together and especially when you get everyone on the bench in,” Phillips said. “To go into a spot and be ready to do that, everyone on the bench needs to be engaged with what’s happening on the court.”
“That’s what’s really fun about this team. You can put anyone in and they can get the job done,” Trapp added.
Sabrina Cooper prepares to serve during Brunswick/Mt. Ararat’s home girls volleyball match with Lake Region on Tuesday. The Dragons rolled to a 3-0 victory. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)
A block at the net by Lohr, Coombs and Naomi Martin gave the Dragons a 12-2 lead in the second set.
The Lakers (0-6) fought back, behind Haley Fernald’s kills and Cheyenne Bell nine digs through two sets, but again it was the serving of Whitlock and the play up front from Trapp that propelled the Dragons to a second set victory by the score of 25-8.
The third played a little more evenly, with each team trading points early on before the Lakers were within three points after a pair of aces by Savannah Silke, trailing Brunswick/Mt. Ararat, 8-5.
With the score 10-5, the Dragons virtually put the game away, scoring 11 of the next 12 points to jump to a 21-6 lead. The team’s communication with each other were a direct result of the run.
“A lot of communication,” Phillips said. “That’s the most important thing out on the court. It goes back to that this sport is a team sport, you have to talk with one another.”
After the final point, the Dragons celebrated with a cheer and knew their hard work on and off the court paid off on this day.
“From the beginning, its has progressed as the season has gone on,” Trapp said of her team’s cohesiveness. “This year’s team is really tight as a group.”
Coach Phillips will take this win in stride and hopes her team will build on it.
“This was most important for our outlook at this point,” Phillips said of the win. “We are still right there. I told the girls we have a lot of games left, we could still get to a .500 record.”
Trapp finished the game with four kills, five digs and two aces. Along with her four aces, Whitlock had eight assists and five digs, while Chloe Coombs chipped in with a kill, four digs and three assists.
Brunswick/Mt. Ararat girls volleyball coach Kaili Phillips, middle right, talks to her Dragons during a timeout in Tuesday’s home match with Lake Region. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)
Brunswick/Mt. Ararat volleyball players Kathleen Trapp (10), Naomi Martin, center, and Sabrina Cooper come together before a Lake Region serve in Tuesday’s matchup at Brunswick High School. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)
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