Lady Eagles soar past Providence

The Eagles got to work on their depth and Maryssa Martin got to work on her swing on Tuesday, as her nine kills led the way to Princeton High's 25-17, 25-13, 25-12 victory over visiting Providence Christian.

The Lions (2-13, 0-2 Pioneer-Valley League) are a young team with not a lot of height but they defended with a great deal of ferocity against Princeton, and it was their inexperience that allowed the Eagles to work on their depth.

"Today was good for getting kids in that haven't had the court time," said Princeton coach Matt Harvey, "it's good to see them go out and get experience."

After briefly trailing in the opening stages of the first game, the Eagles pulled ahead with the help of kills downed by Maryssa Martin and Ashley McMartin to open up an 11-5 advantage. Martin led the Princeton attack with nine kills and Amanda Hansen provided five, while McMartin finished tied with Gaby Rodriguez with four apiece.

Rodriguez, McMartin, Hansen and Julia Romo all found the floor for aces as the Eagles took Game 1.

A pair of aces by Miranda Perez, and kills by Hansen, Martin and McMartin propelled Princeton to a 21-9 lead in the middle game, and put the Eagles on the cusp of a sweep.

Princeton continued making good use of Hansen's 16 assists and six supplied by Lauren Ferreira, as Rodriguez struck for a pair of kills and sophomore Brianna Zoller landed another in the finale. The Eagles actually found themselves down 5-4 before Rodriguez took the ball to the service line, and proceeded to rattle off four of her five aces in an 11-point run.

Rodriguez's five aces were a team best, with Hansen and Perez both landing a pair. Romo, McMartin and Sabrina Sorrels delivered an ace apiece.

Mandy Edmondson provided three kills and Kayla Tuma, two, for the Lions. Audrey Grocott aced three serves and Lyndsay Lely, two.

Princeton (13-8, 2-0 PVL) plays at Champion Christian on Tuesday, before returning home Thursday to host Elk Creek.

CONTACT Craig Purcell at 824-1036 or cpurcell@tcnpress.com.