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10/13/2019 12:00 AMThe Valley Regional volleyball team hosted Morgan for its annual Dig Pink Game in support of breast cancer awareness on Oct. 7. The Warriors earned their third victory of the season by posting a 3-0 sweep over the Huskies in the Shoreline Conference matchup at Valley Regional High School. Valley went on to take road losses against fellow Shoreline opponents Coginchaug and Cromwell later in the week to move to 3-9 on the season.
The Warriors started off their week by claiming a 3-0 home win versus Morgan in the Dig Pink Game. The Warriors swept the Huskies behind set scores of 25-15, 25-14, 25-21 in Deep River.
Junior Emma Counter led the way for Valley by punching up 15 digs to go with three aces and 16 service receptions. Fellow junior Alena Crosby dished off 17 assists and also had six digs with a pair of aces. Junior Jamie Pullin chipped in with five kills, three aces, and three serve receptions, while junior Ava Boyles had six kills and six receptions for Head Coach Kathy Scott’s squad.
“We are consistently getting steady play by our libero Emma Counter, who is leading the Shoreline in digs, and our setter Alena Crosby, who is second the Shoreline in assists,” Scott said. “Ava Boyles is starting to come on strong in the front row, and Jamie Pullin is another strong outside hitter.”
Senior captain Carlee Kirla had four kills with seven service receptions in the victory. Senior Mahi Shah had four digs and four receptions, senior Madden Riley had six kills, and sophomore Madison Neviaser contributed five digs for Valley Regional.
On Oct. 10, the Warriors traveled to Durham to take on Coginchaug and dropped 3-1 decision against the Blue Devils. After the teams split the first two sets, Coginchaug took the match by the score of 25-18, 24-26, 25-18, 25-18.
Crosby recorded 10 assists to complement her six digs and three aces on the day. Counter had 17 digs and 12 serve receptions, Kirla posted nine digs with seven aces and four receptions, and Boyles had four kills, four digs, and 13 receptions.
Madison Neviaser had seven digs and 12 serve receptions, Shah added seven digs with eight receptions, and Pullin dealt out three aces to go with 11 receptions for the Warriors. Riley recorded eight digs with three service receptions, and senior captain Mackenzie Neviaser had three digs with five receptions in the contest.
“Madden Riley and Mackenzie Neviaser are our middles. Madden has a great touch on her attack and has been blocking well,” Coach Scott said. “Mackenzie has great hustle and is mixing up her attack nicely.”
In its last match of the week, Valley took a 3-0 road loss to Cromwell with scores 25-22, 25-21, 25-18. Counter had 21 digs with 20 receptions and two aces for Valley. Crosby handed out 24 assists to go with eight digs. Kirla had 15 digs with six kills, four receptions, and three aces, while Shah added five digs and six receptions for Coach Scott’s club.
“Carlee Kirla is our opposite hitter and has been a solid defender,” said Scott. “Mahi Shah is doing a great job with her serve and back row play. She is our backup setter, has great hands, and she has played a positive, consistent role in the back row.”
Pullin notched eight kills with eight receptions, and Madison Neviaser had eight digs with five receptions in the match. Boyles had four kills and four receptions, while Riley added three kills for Valley Regional.
Valley’s next contest is a home match against East Hampton at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18. After that, the Warriors will hit the road to face East Lyme at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21, followed by a road match versus Haddam- Killingworth at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23.