The James River volleyball team dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten last week, but bounced back to win two matches on Saturday.
The Knights were 6-0 prior to playing at 6-1 Glenvar last Tuesday and the host Highlanders gave River their first loss, 25-13, 24-19 and 25-23. Ashby Wilkes had 13 kills and 18 digs for the Knights and Ayden Jennings had 23 assists and 14 digs.
“Glenvar was a tough night,” said River coach Linsey Firebaugh. “We could not get anything productive going. Our serve receive was very inconsistent, so we were unable to run our offense effectively.”
Last Thursday the Knights hosted Class 5 Franklin County and lost in three. The first two sets both went 25-23 and the Eagles put it away with a 26-16 win in the third. Kinley Millman led River with eight kills and Jennings had 17 assists.
“The Franklin County game was a competitive match,” said Firebaugh. “They had a talented team and we competed well the first two sets.”
River hosted a tri-match on Saturday in Springwood and bounced back with two wins. The Knights opened with a three set win over Heritage, 25-14, 25-15 and 25-13. Wilkes had 11 kills and Jennings had 16 assists and six aces.
Photos by Brian Hoffman
In their second match River defeated Monticello in four sets. The Mustangs won the first set, 25-19, but River won the next three, 25-18, 25-22 and 25-20. Wilkes had 13 kills, Millman had nine, Jennings had 26 assists and Kyleigh Napier had 15 digs.
“This was a long and busy week for us,” said Firebaugh. “The tri-match we hosted on Saturday was two good wins for us. During the Heritage match we served well and kept them out of system enough to dominate the match. The Monticello game was much closer. They have a talented team but we serve received well and attacked effectively.”
The Knights took an 8-2 overall record to Floyd County on Tuesday, but results were too late for publication. They’re at Carroll County next Tuesday for a Three Rivers District match.
