Italy’s Junior High volleyball girls play sharp against Keene
Italy’s April Lusk makes a play on the ball during the 7th Grade “B” game against Keene while teammates Lizzie Garcia, Quintera Washington and Paige Little are ready to assist. (Barry Byers)
7th Grade A-Team:
Italy’s 7th Grade “A” team Lady Gladiators, coached by Jennifer Reeves, made quick work of the Keene Lady Chargers winning the match in two straight sets. Italy wins the first set 25-11. Raven Harper helps serve Italy to an early 5-1 lead in the second set. “B” team then leads 18-11 before finishing strong with a 25-16 victory. Taleyia Wilson, Janae Robertson, Dreaa Holbert, Cory Chance, Kaci Bales, Sarah Coleman and Amber Hooker were major contributors to Italy’s success.
7th Grade B-Team:
Italy’s 7th Grade “B” team Lady Gladiators played two close sets with Keene but the Lady Chargers won both by the same score, 25-23, despite strong performances by Italy’s Oleshia Anderson, Quintera Washington, Paige Little, Moesha Griffin, April Lusk, Vanessa Cantu, Brooke DeBorde, Kimberly Mata, Christy Murray, Sarah Levy and Elizabeth Garcia.
8th Grade game:
Italy’s 8th Grade Lady Gladiators made it look easy as they dominated the first set and then sealed the matchup in the second set with coach, Tina Richards, guiding the team.
Winning the first set 25-20, Italy was totally confident going into the second set. Keene stayed with Italy early and tied the score 9-9. However, Italy’s Lillie Perry was a scoring machine at the net and received plenty of help from teammates Halee Turner, Brittany Chambers and Hannah Washington. Ashlyn Jacinto, Kayla Cunningham and Cassisy Childers pitched in from the service line during vollies as Italy’s 8th grade girls went on to win 25-15.