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FACTORYVILLE —Rhys Yarns strong serving keyed the Abington Heights attack as the Comets defeated Lackawanna Trail in three sets, 25-9, 25-20, 25-11, in a Lackawanna League match on March 30 at Lackawanna Trail High School.
The junior defensive specialist/outside hitter had six of his game-high 11 aces in the first game. Senior middle hitter Griffin Joyce added two aces and a kill for the Comets in the first game while Ross Fauquier and Aidan Holmes each had a kill for the Lions.
“We got in a rut a few times with their one tough server and we couldn’t get out of it,” Lackawanna Trail head coach Carlee Laubach said. “Then we would get the ball back and miss our serve. We just couldn’t get any momentum going.”
The second game was tied, 7-7, before Abington Heights scored six straight points. Lackawanna Trail (0-3) rallied to pull within two points at 22-20, but the Comets scored the next three to secure the game.
Senior outside hitter Shreyas Chandragiri and sophomore middle hitter Eric Brickel each had a kill for the Comets in the game. Senior outside hitter Perry Williams provided a block, and senior defensive specialist Andrew Schoen and senior libero Jeremy Critchley, who also contributed 13 digs, each had an ace for Abington. Aidan Holmes had two kills off assists from Griffin Holmes for Trail.
“We served very tough,” Abington Heights head coach Jamie Spangler said. “That was definitely our main asset. We were sloppy in some other areas, but we were definitely able to serve well.”
Abington Heights (2-0) began the third game on a 10-0 run that included three aces from Rhys Yarns.
“I really try to work on my serves a lot,” said Yarns, who finished the game with 29 service points. “I also enjoy serving a lot, it’s probably my favorite part of the game. I always just try to put the ball in play.”
Chandragiri added three more kills in the game for the Comets. Joyce, Trey Yarns, Phil Gattorna, and Williams each had a kill for Abington Heights. Nick Miller had a kill off an assist from Aidan Holmes for the Lions.
Laubach was pleased with the effort of her team that competed with just seven active players.
“We had some good moments,” she said. “With all the new guys on the team, I’m really impressed with how well they are playing.”
The Lions got a boost with the addition of Fauquier, a senior, who played in his first match since his freshman year.
“He’s going to be an asset to the team once we get him going,” Laubach said.