By Seth Vanderwest
LocalSportsJournal.com

WHITE CLOUD–The Kent City volleyball team faceD-off against White Cloud Thursday evening in a Division 3 district final match-up. The Eagles overpowered the host school, winning in 3 sets to earn their first district championship since 2016. 

From the opening serve, it was clear that Kent City came to play. They jumped out to a 5-0 lead over the Indians to begin the match and never looked back, cruising to a 25-13 win in the first set. White Cloud would never find their footing. 

“We stuck to our game plan of serving strong and moving the ball around to multiple hitters,” said Kent City coach Vandy Krueger. 

Their strong serving was especially apparent in the second set, when Eagles Kaden Perkins and Susan Rau tallied two aces apiece in a 25-9 win. 

Kent City once again jumped out to a big lead in the third set, with an 8-1 advantage early on. They eventually took the third 25-8. 

White Cloud struggled to find their footing throughout the match. The Indians struggled against the taller Kent City frontcourt and were unable to string together good plays. 

Leading Kent City was Jacee Hoffman with 4 aces and 20 assists. Junior Maddie Geers added 7 kills and 18 digs, while Kaden Perkins finished with 2 aces and 18 digs. 

Six different Eagles had at least 3 kills on the night. 

White Cloud ends their season as the district runner-up. 

Kent City will travel to Holton this Tuesday, Nov. 8 for the regional semifinals against the Tigers of Shelby. Game time is set for 5:00 PM.

Feature photo is courtesy of photographer Krisha Wainright