ROYAL CITY — The Royal City Knights volleyball team earned a 3-0 victory at home against Naches Valley on Tuesday evening.

“I think it went pretty good. The first two sets were really good and then the last set we didn’t do too hot, but we came back and pushed,” said Knights player Maddie Allred.

The Knights started the evening off strong, taking and maintaining the lead in the first set and winning 25-14. They repeated this success in the second set, holding their opponents under 10 points for the majority of the time. Naches Valley tacked on a few more points before the set ended at 25-14 in favor of the Knights.

In the third set, Naches Valley started off stronger and kept the score close throughout. Heaven Parker from the Knights said that the timeout right before the team earned its last point helped the players get their minds back in the game, where they won with a close final score of 25-23.

“Our greatest strength was probably hitting outside, and I feel like we got some pretty good digs here and there,” said Parker.

Allred said that one of the most important lessons the team can take away from the day is to always keep their focus and play their hardest at all times. The Knights players said they would benefit from improving their communication skills on the court.

“We did good (communicating) in the first and second set, but I feel like we could have definitely stepped it up a bit on the third set,” said Parker.

Knights Head Coach Lisa Lawrence said the team had an overall great game in its victory over Naches Valley. She said the Knights put together great combinations, had great touches and hits on the ball and their passing is showing improvement with each passing day.

The win was overall the result of a great team effort as every player did a good job serving and working together, said the coach. Everybody on the team contributed, with some players stepping up to fill in for those who were unable to attend the game.

“Our big goal was to play at a high level, stay positive and work hard,” said Lawrence. “I felt like we did all of those things and brought in the win.”

As the Knights prepare for their next game tonight, they will proceed with their game plan to just improve on their passing and serve receive so they can get good first touches on the ball, she said. The team will work to get their setters and hitters in sync as they move forward.

“Our real goal is if we can improve even one percent every day, by the end of the season, we should be in good shape,” said the coach.

The Knights’ next game will be on the road against Wahluke tonight at 6:30 p.m.

BOX SCORE:

ROYL: 25-25-25: 3

NCHS: 14-14-23: 0

    Avarie Hill, a senior for the Knights, prepares to serve the ball during their game against Naches Valley. The Knights took the lead early in the first two sets, with Naches Valley coming closer in the third.
  

    Knights senior Maddie Allred hits the ball over the net against Naches Valley. Allred said the team played very well throughout the evening and wants to work on maintaining team communication.
  

    The Knights’ junior player Heaven Parker serves the ball to her opponent Tuesday evening. Parker said she felt like she performed well on Tuesday and any time she made a mistake her teammates were there to back her up.
  

    Junior Darany Pineda with the Knights makes a save to keep the ball alive against Naches Valley. Coach Lisa Lawrence said the team is working to play at a high level and will continue to improve through the end of the season.