Women’s Volleyball Goes 1-1 at First Event of the Season

| Photo courtesy of TKC SAAC

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. — The King’s Women’s Volleyball team played Penn State Hazleton and Centenary University in a tri-match in Hackettstown, N.J. on Sept. 4.

In the first match against Penn State Hazleton, King’s women won decisively in three sets.

In the second match against Centenary University, King’s women lost in five sets on Centenary’s home court. Centenary took the first two sets, scoring 25-16 and 25-23, respectively. 

King’s made a strong comeback in the following two sets, scoring 23-25 and 20-25. In the last set, a questionable referee call cost King’s the match, resulting in a  15-12 loss. 

“We should have won that game. We had the momentum and points before they made that call,” co-captain and junior Alex Kemsley said.

Sophomore Bella Rush led the team with 20 points, 15 kills, 17 digs and five service aces. Rush was later recognized as Rookie of the Week. Co-captain and senior Sam Klozik had 13 points, 12 kills, 24 digs and one service ace.

Regarding this year’s team, Klozik commented, “We’ve always had very young athletes leading the team, and something that has always impressed me is if we start to struggle a little bit, they can change their mindset so quickly. They take over the pace.”

Freshman Haley Paige Gilroy joined the team taking on the position of libero, arguably one of the most important positions on the team, after losing her last high school season due to COVID-19.

Despite only having four returning players, Coach Richard Christensen is confident in his young team. He anticipates them to win the HVIAC Conference and compete in the nationals tournament this coming November.

The next women’s volleyball game will be played at Valley Forge University near Philadelphia on Sept. 11.