Women of Troy beat J-Hawks in hard-fought battle

The volleyball team won 3-1 against Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Sept. 7.

Hanah Kitamoto and Alyssa Skala|September 7, 2020

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Alyssa Skala
Head Volleyball Coach Keeley Arnold, talks to her team during a Cedar Rapids Jefferson timeout.

With only three seniors on the roster, West’s volleyball team is looking to utilize its young talent to have their breakthrough season. 

The Women of Troy showcased their strong offensive abilities throughout the game, with freshman middle hitter Melae’ Lacy leading the team with kills in the first set. Returning starter Katherine Kouba ’22 served an ace to put the Women of Troy up 11-10. Head coach Keeley Arnold’s squad only gave up two points after Kouba’s ace, winning the first set 25-12.

The team came back and picked it up right where they left off in the second set. Tied at 11, the Women of Troy got some big momentum, scoring 10 points in a row to go up 20-11 behind Carmen Crabtree ’22 and Alaina Greenlee ’23 serving. West celebrated off the court with a 25-12 win in the second set. 

The teams were tied at 13 in the third set and each team managed to climb up the scoreboard including an ace from Aaliyah Trulson ’22. With scrappy defense from the J-Hawks, the team narrowly dropped the third set to Jefferson 25-27.

Raina Pfeifer ’22 and Mayowa Dokun ’22 contributed in back-to-back kills to lead the team ahead of the J-Hawks 5-4 in the fourth set. Dominant kills piled on from Lacy, Dokun and McKenna Proud ’21, as it inched closer to the team’s victory. Senior Ryann Culver’s kill secured the win for the Women of Troy 25-19 in the fourth set. 

The future of fall sports is still blurry as all extracurricular activities are to be suspended during the two-week online instruction period starting Sept. 8. The decision about continuing fall sports while instruction is fully online is set to be made before the end of this week.