Burlington Central makes easy work of Richmond

Lauren Wiltsie doesn't walk into a gym and command much of a presence on the volleyball court.

Until the match starts, that is.

The 5-foot-7 Burlington Central senior was at her best Wednesday, pounding 13 kills from all over the court to lead the Rockets to a dominating 25-18, 25-12 Big Northern East win over Richmond-Burton.

"She can do everything," said BC coach Marv Leavitt. "She jumps extremely well and she knows how to adjust her hits and she's one of the best servers around."

The Rockets (15-4, 8-0) continued to show they are one of the best serve receive teams around as well. They went 26-for-27 against Richmond (9-5, 5-3) and never let the visiting Rockets have much hope in either game.

Game 1 did stay close early but once Central broke away from a 10-9 lead with 5 straight points off Aly DeTamble's tough serve, Richmond never caught up. Game 2 was only close at 7-6 before BC broke away, finishing the 31-minute match on a resounding Wiltsie kill.

"We were playing serve and serve receive really well," said Wiltsie, who missed 18 matches last season with a knee injury. "If you win that you run the game. Richmond-Burton is a really good team but we kept our pace and kept control. We were really composed tonight."

The Rockets also got a stellar effort from DeTamble with 4 aces and 4 kills as well as junior Alexis VanHiel, who had 3 kills and 5 blocks. Senior Brianna Venturini, playing only the second game, had 13 digs while senior Jenna Runde added 8 digs and was 11 of 11 on serve receive. The Rockets also made only one passing error all night.

"We're really pleased," Leavitt said. "The team's really coming around. It was a really nice team effort tonight."