photo by: Chris Duderstadt

Veritas Christian Academy junior Chloe Holland (right) jumps in the air while celebrating a kill with her teammates in the first set of the Eagles' sweep of Bishop Seabury Tuesday at the East Lawrence Recreation Center. Veritas defeated Seabury in straight sets (27-25, 25-21).

Whenever Veritas Christian Academy’s volleyball team needed a kill to turn the tides in its favor, junior Chloe Holland rose to the occasion in the Eagles’ wins over Kansas City (Kan.) East and Bishop Seabury on Tuesday at the East Lawrence Recreation Center.

The humble-minded Holland led the Eagles with 36 kills, as Veritas defeated KC East in three sets (25-17, 15-25, 25-19) and swept the cross-town rival Seahawks (27-25, 25-21), but deflected the credit to her teammates.

“I couldn’t do it without my seniors. I’ve tried to step it up from last year, and it’s been going good,” “Holland said. “We are really gelling as a team and overall improving.”

The Eagles (12-4) got off to a fast start against the Seahawks en route to building a 21-13 lead in the first set, but Seabury did not go quietly. Seabury sophomore Lindsey Hornberger sparked a rally with two kills and three aces during a 9-3 run to tie it up at 24-24.

“Lindsey is an incredible player,” first-year Seabury coach Danielle Geronymo said. “During the warm-up, I said, ‘You have no idea how big you are and how big you are going to get.’ She’s really gifted.”

Holland and the Eagles’ high-powered offense proved to be too much for the Seahawks, though, as Veritas won three of the final four points to take the opening set. Veritas coach Kyle Billings has been pleased with how Holland has challenged herself to lead the team offensively, and is encouraged about the chemistry she has built with setter Emma Wilson.

“Everybody has a role on this team, and we look to her (Holland) to get a lot of kills,” Billings said. “Emma Wilson, our setter, did a good job finding her and getting her the kind of sets that she can get kills on. When she wasn’t available for us, I feel like everybody else really stepped up to help keep the momentum going.”

One of the players who stepped up for the Eagles when they were in a rut offensively was Billings’ daughter and Veritas middle blocker Brienne Billings. The coach’s daughter had five blocks and three kills in Veritas’ home triangular.

“I’ve always just tried my best,” Brienne said. “I’m not the tallest middle, but I always try to get up there and find it.”

While the Seahawks could not get over the hump in the first set, they were able to take a commanding lead in the second behind the serving of Vivian Aubel. The Seahawks senior came up with three aces during a 13-4 run to give Seabury an 18-13 advantage.

“Recently, we worked a lot on serving,” fellow Seahawks senior Celia Taylor-Puckett said. “One practice we just served the whole time. So after that, our serves got so much better and that’s the whole part of the game.”

The Eagles answered right back, though, with some accurate serving of their own. Naomi Brakenhoff had three consecutive aces during a 7-0 Veritas run to put the Eagles back up, 20-18. Between Brakenhoff and Emma Boulton’s team-high five aces, Holland liked what she saw serving wise from her teammates.

“Our underclassmen can serve, and it’s really beneficial to the team as a whole,” Holland said.

After the Seahawks and Eagles were deadlocked at 21-21, Veritas closed out the match with four unanswered points to complete the sweep.

“We love playing Bishop Seabury. They’re a great school with a talented team year after year, so it’s really fun and it challenges us,” Kyle Billings said. “It’s a fun rivalry, and we look forward to playing them again this year. We appreciate everything they do on the court. We just try to give them our best every time we come out.”

The Seahawks — who also lost in straight sets to KC East (25-12, 25-15) — have had their difficulties finding the win column this season, but Taylor-Puckett has been pleased with her team’s performance of late despite its 1-10 record.

“I’m just really proud of our team,” Celia-Puckett said. “Even though sometimes we have struggled, we always come together. It’s one of the best teams I’ve played on because of how close we are.”

One of the other reasons Celia-Puckett has enjoyed her senior season thus far has been because of Geronymo. Tuesday’s match against Veritas was the first for Seabury’s new coach, and Geronymo is looking forward to playing the Eagles again down the road.

“I’m from Brazil, and volleyball in Brazil is really big,” Geronymo said. “For me, this brings me memories from home. I’m kind of used to there being huge crowds and screaming. It just makes the whole game more exciting.”