The Adel-DeSoto-Minburn Invitational, Saydel, and Boundurant-Farrar are all three new additions to the Trojan volleyball calendar for the 2019 season. On Thursday, Atlantic checked off the first of their fresh face-offs in competing in the ADM Invite.

Nevada was the first team Atlantic played. The opposition’s record stood at 2-4, while the Trojans were 4-3. A slow start for Atlantic resulted in Nevada grabbing the first set, 21-8. Improved defense and solid serving pulled Atlantic within their competition in the second. However, Nevada remained one step ahead and claimed the win, 21-16. The girls had 29 digs, with junior Mia Trotter snagging ten.

Following the straight-set loss to Nevada, the Trojans took on the host school in ADM. Before the beginning of the night, ADM’s record was 2-3 for their 2019 campaign. Atlantic convincingly took the first set 21-13 by preventing ADM’s spikes from hitting the hardwood. A narrow second set kept the crowd guessing, but the challengers pushed the match to a deciding set. The host team was able to prevail, taking the final set 15-8. Though the Trojans came up short, they put up an impressive number of digs with 49. Trotter–who plays libero–led her team with 12 digs, followed by junior Maycie Waters with 11 and senior Kenzie Waters with ten.

Woodward-Granger was next up. Prior to the ADM Invitational, Woodward-Granger was 3-5. The Trojans were victorious in the first set, 21-17. However, Woodward-Granger won the next two, putting Atlantic at 0-3 on the day. One strong spot for Atlantic was their defense, where they had a whooping 67 digs. Trotter led the team with 26.

A 5-3 Norwalk team was the other half of the next matchup. Atlantic trailed Norwalk at the end of one, 21-14. The Trojans looked to push the match to a deciding set, and kept the match close in the second. Norwalk remained at the forefront though, and Atlantic fell short, 21-18. The girls did not miss a serve throughout the whole match, and freshman Aubrey Guyer claimed the lone ace. They also slated 37 digs.

The final game of the night was against Gilbert, a team that boasted a 7-3 record at the start of round-robin play. The Trojans’ defense kept them within striking distance of the lead. Ultimately, Atlantic ran out of real estate in the first set, falling 21-18. The second set proved tougher, and Atlantic lost the match. Sixty-five digs was the number against Gilbert.

Through five matches, the girls had 247 digs, 57 kills, and eight aces. 

Next up for the varsity team is a home tournament on Saturday, Sept. 14.