After a pair of tough 5-set losses to open the season, the Northampton girls volleyball team has righted the ship by winning their next 3 matches in row, all in straight sets.

The latest victory, a 25-14, 25-18, 25-17 win over Easton Tuesday night in Pete Schneider Gymnasium, showcased the team’s strong serve game.

Head coach Mike Holihan explained, “We have a drill that coach Sue (Arndt) from the boys team did that I stole from her and it works wonders. All of their serves are better from what they were last year and from when we started tryouts.”

After dropping the first point of the first set, the Kids reeled off three points of their own and never trailed again in the set. 4-point service runs by Claire Erdman and Angela Fisher were the key. A long rally culminating in a Payton Reuber kill put the finishing touch on it.

Northampton overcame an early 6-3 deficit in winning the second set. A 9-point run on Morgan Hughes’ serve turned an 8-8 tie into a 17-8 romp.

The third set was tied at 15 apiece when the Kids ran off the next 6 points, 5 on Molly Hughes’ serve, to take command and eventually close out the match.

Naomi Nebiyou led the team with 9 kills and chipped in 10 digs. Holihan discussed her impact on the team, “Naomi has been our rock. Her passing, her defense, her consistency has been phenomenal.”

The senior third year starter described the improvement in her performance from previous seasons, “Mentally, I feel like I did take a leap. Last year, I had problems with focusing on my mistakes and this year I realized that if do that, it won’t let me move forward as a player, so I try to let the mistakes go and stay focused on the next point.”

Morgan Hughes was tops on the team with 18 digs and had 5 aces. Fisher had 6 aces to go with 3 blocks and 4 kills. Molly Hughes doled out 20 assists and had 12 digs. Morgan Chandler was second on the team with 8 kills.

The team’s Wednesday battle with Parkland occurred too late for this week’s edition.

The K-Kids should pick up two more wins this week when Pleasant Valley comes to Northampton on Friday and when the team travels to Pocono Mountain West on Tuesday.