The Whitehall girls volleyball team found itself trying to extend their match against Northampton to five sets, but the Kids made a late rally in the fourth to ultimately defeat their Cement Belt rivals.

Whitehall jumped out to an early 6-3 lead and then it went back and forth until the Kids started to pull away at 15-16, prompting head coach Eric Budge to call at time out once Northampton reeled off two more consecutive points to take a 15-18 lead.

The Kids were able to sustain a three-to-four-point cushion the rest of the way and held on for the 19-25 win that sealed the match. The Kids emerged with the 25-21, 21-25, 30-28, 25-19 victory.

With the loss, the Zephyrs drop to 0-2 on the season.

Budge said that match offered a lot of positives for his team.

“I think they played really well,” said Budge. “We’re still learning; we have a freshman setter and she’s going through her reps, and she’s getting better and better every single time we play.

“I think they’re going to take it as a tough loss, but I think it’s a really great growing opportunity.”

He said that when they spoke after the game, everyone understood what they have to work on.

“They’re a great team,” he said. “They’re only going to get better.”

Another part of their growth will be learning how to close out games. They started well in that fourth set, but weren’t able to overtake the Kids late in the set.

“That just comes with experience,” said Budge.

In that fourth set, senior Caitlin Kier demonstrated her versatility. She can score from anywhere on the court and strikes the ball with authority. She’s also adept at digging balls and kept a number of hard shots alive during the match. Her serving skills are another weapon in her arsenal that makes her a valuable asset to the young team. She finished the game with four kills, four digs, two blocks, and two aces.

“Caitlin did great,” said Budge. “She’s really working on that front row attack, and attacking from all parts of the court. She’s really grown as a player.”

He said that Olivia Ballard is exhibiting a lot of that versatility as well, adapting to her role as an outside hitter. She had four kills and three blocks in the match.

Alyson Peters led the way with 14 kills. She also registered 16 blocks. Additionally, Alexa Crum had 30 assists and three digs.

They went 8-4 at First Kill to begin the season. Budge says that it’s still a learning process, but they saw a lot of growth at that season-opening tourney, and that has continued through the early stages of the season.