FRUITPORT – Thursday was a truly great night for the Fruitport boys volleyball team.

It would have been in any case, because the Trojans were playing their very first home match as an official varsity team, after spending four years competing as a club team.

But it became even more exciting when Fruitport broke through for an exciting four-set victory over Covenant Christian in a very tightly contested match, when two of the four sets went to overtime.

The win was extremely welcome, because the Trojans did not post a victory last year in their final season under club status.

The final scores were 25-23, 26-28, 25-22, 27-25.

“The night was an exciting night for the boys,” said Fruitport head coach Sam Moore, whose team is now 1-2 on the season. “To be able to play in front of the fans at home, and come out with the win, was a lot of fun. I am proud of each and every one of them. It was a team effort win, and I cannot wait to see them continue to grow!”

The match was extremely tight from start to finish.

The Trojans fell behind early but rallied to win the first set 25-23. The second set went to overtime and Covenant Christian won 28-26. The Trojans bounced back and gutted out a 25-22 win in the third set, then clinched the victory with a really exciting 27-25 overtime win in the fourth set.

Leading the team was a familiar face to Fruitport sports, but a new one to volleyball. Senior David Johnson-Jimenez played several years of football, basketball, and then baseball in the spring, but chose to hit the volleyball court for his final varsity season.

He finished with a team-high 13 kills and six assists.

“I’ve never really been in a program like this before,” Johnson-Jimenez said. “ I played baseball all my life, but being able to be a part of this team and one of the first (boys volleyball players) feels amazing. This group of guys is absolutely amazing to me.”

The opening set included some errors and miscommunication by the Trojans, but they kept battling. Johnson-Jimenez dished out four kills to inch his team ahead one point at a time. That was just enough for Fruitport to capture its first set victory as a varsity team.

Set 2 had a lot of momentum swings. Covenant Christian opened with a 7-2 burst, the Trojans regrouped and made a fight of it, but Covenant Christian won in OT.

Eddie Bouchard and Johnson-Jimenez collected kills throughout the third set, and the Trojans built a small lead. Covenant Christian made a late push, but a clutch kill from Fruitport’s Gavin Wilson won the set 25-22.

Set four delivered the most dramatic action of the night. Battling through constant lead changes and ties at 8-8, 11-11, and 15-15, Fruitport gained late momentum with a key run to go up 21-18.

Covenant Christian rallied back to even the score 22-22 and again at 24-24. The Trojans won three of the last four points, however, to nail down the big win.

“It feels good, considering how much we have put in,” Coach Moore said. “We have some returning players and some new players just getting to experience volleyball, so it was fun to watch.”

Bouchard and Tanner Cappema each finished with six kills for Fruitport.

Cappema led the defensive effort with 20 digs while Bouchard added 10.

Fruitport will compete in the West Ottawa Invitational on Saturday.