The Trojans traveled to Carroll to compete against the Kuemper Catholic Knights on Thursday, in one of the toughest matches the group would have this season. The Knights have been ranked 1st in class 3A every week. Coming into the match, Kuemper only had one loss on their record–a five set marathon to conference challenger St. Albert. The Trojans came off two straight-set conferences losses. The two teams had not met until this point in the season.

The JV squad took the court first. After two quick sets, the Trojans claimed the loss.

After JV, the varsity teams suited up. Right off the bat, Kuemper came out and proved why they are ranked number one, as they crushed the Trojans 25-6 in the first set. Kuemper continued to get hits to the floor against the Trojans.

Following the first set defeat, Atlantic rebounded and competed with the Knights. They were able to slate some kills on the stat sheet. Still, the team couldn’t make up enough points to catch up with Kuemper, and they lost the second set 25-17.

The Trojans pushed on in the third set and gave a good performance. However, Kuemper strung many points together, and pulled away with the win 25-14.

In the Kuemper match, the Trojans experimented with a new rotation. With this change, sophomore Caroline Pellett was not able to serve. Pellett has went 72 for 88 from behind the line and has 12 aces this season.

Against the Knights, the Trojan’s usually strong service game had many flaws. The group went 20 for 38, and did not claim an ace the entire night. However, the team had 12 kills, 12 digs, and four blocks.

The next opponent for the Trojans is Denison-Schleswig. The two teams will face off at AHS on Tuesday. This match will be the Trojan’s last home game of the season.