VB News for the week of Oct 17-21
Junior High Volleyball Wraps Up Season
by Kayla Simmons
The junior high volleyball teams ended their season on Monday, October 17, at home against the Plainview Pirates. The 7th grade A and C teams were victorious in their matches, but the 7B team was unable to pull out a win. In the 8th grade division, the A team came out on top and claimed the win, but the B team fell to the Pirates.
In the first game, the 7th grade C team stepped on the court. In the first set, it was a back-and-forth game between the two teams. Winning a nail-biter, the Pierce girls won the first set 22 to 20. Going into the second match, the Lady Jays just couldn’t keep up with Plainview. The Pirates claimed the second set 15 to 21. Not backing down, both teams kept their intensity high as they battled to the final points. Pulling out a close win, Pierce took the set 17 to 15 to win the game.
For the second match-up of the evening, the 7th grade B team went head-to-head with Plainview. In the first set, The Pirates came out strong as they pulled an early lead on the Lady Jays. Not able to come back, Pierce lost the first set 12 to 21. Springing back in the second match, the Pierce girls didn’t waste any time and kicked it into gear. The Lady Jays came out on top 21 to 17. Bringing the game into a third set, neither team was backing down, but the Lady Jays allowed Plainview to gain the winning points, leaving the final score of the set 12 to 15 in favor of Plainview.
Going into the last game of the 7th grade division, the 7th grade A team came out with their momentum high and overtook the Pirates 25 to 10 in the first set. Still bringing the heat, the Pierce girls came out with the same mentality and claimed the second set 25 to 13 winning the game.
“The 7th graders showed so much improvement over the course of the season this year,” said coach Kathleen Brummels. “It is hard to believe that the season is already over, and I’m so proud of how far they came in such a short amount of time.”
Into the 8th grade matches, the B team battled first. Having a rough start, the Pierce girls let the Pirates take an early lead, and the Lady Jays lost the first set 6 to 21. Gaining back some momentum in the second set, Pierce kept up with Plainview until the final points. Taking the lead towards the end, Plainview won the match 16 to 21 taking the game.
In the last matchup of the evening, the 8th A team stayed close to their opponent for the first set. With the Lady Jays letting them slip away at the end of the match, the Pirates won the first set 22 to 25. Coming out stronger, the Lady Jays were able to overpower the Pirates. The Pierce girls claimed the second match 25 to 17, taking the game into a third match. In the last game-deciding set, the Lady Jays were not backing down. Pierce lit up the court and won the game 15 to 7.
“The season progressed tremendously,” said coach Angie Schroeder. “It started slow, but the girls began to trust their teammates and learn their rotations. Throughout the season, the girls came in to get help off the court, which I was very pleased with.”
Freshmen Suffer Loss to Lutheran High
by Kaylee Dvorak
Pierce’s freshman volleyball team took on LHNE on Monday, October 17, at home. The Lady Jays lost in three sets.
For the first set, the Lady Jays tried to keep up with the Eagles but lost 12-25. Shaking off the loss and getting their intensity going, the Lady Jays were able to come out on top for set number two with a score of 25-21.
The last set of the night Pierce battled the whole way, but the Lady Jays were unable to put a final stop to the Eagles and lost with a score of 11-15.
“I think the girls played great; we just have to find a way to finish,” said freshman coach Krista Hermsmeyer.
The freshman team’s next game was Tuesday, October 18, at home against Randolph, which was their last game of the season.
JV Takes Loss to Lutheran High
by Kaylee Dvorak
The JV volleyball team took on Lutheran High at home on Monday, October 17. The Lady Jays were unable to come out on top, losing in two.
For the first set of the night the ladies came out with intensity but were unable keep up with the Eagles and finished 11-25.
Onto the second set of the night, the Lady Jays tried to pick up the intensity, but were unable to find a way to break through LHNE defense and lost 9 to 25.
“The girls came out aggressive, but were unable to keep up with LHNE,” said coach Zach Weber.
The next game for the ladies was Tuesday, October 19, at home against Randolph.
Freshman Lady Jays End Season
by Kayla Simmons
The freshman volleyball team closed their season with a two-set win against Randolph on Tuesday, October 18, at home.
In the first set of the game, both opponents battled for the win to 25. Pulling ahead in the last few points, the Lady Jays took the first match 25 to 21.
Keeping their momentum high in the second set, the Pierce girls kept up their pace and stayed ahead on the scoreboard. Pierce won the game 25 to 18 in the second match.
This game brought the freshman volleyball season to an end. “We had a lot of ups and downs this season, like a lot of seasons have,” said freshman coach Krista Hermsmeyer. “I think the girls made tremendous progress, and I’m really excited to see what this group does down the road.”
JV Lady Jays Win Against Randolph
by Grace Spieker
The JV Lady Jays played the Randolph Lady Cardinals on Tuesday, October 18, at home. Pierce took to match in two sets.
As the game started, the Lady Jays were down, but when the score of the set came to be 8 to 16, the Lady Jays pulled through and won 25 to 21.
In the second set, the Lady Jays never lost momentum. Grace Spieker started the set serving six points in a row, with a couple of aces. Toward the end of the set, Maci Kroupa came out and served for eight points in a row, finishing the game. The Lady Jays won the set 25 to 9.
“I was really proud of how we responded, as far as focus,” said JV coach Zach Weber. “We were down 8 to 16 in the first set, and we battled back to win 25 to 21.”
This was the last game for the JV Lady Jays, who finished 4 and 12, and as the season wrapped up, JV coach Zach Weber said, “I thought we made a lot of improvements this year, and many of the girls have made tremendous progress. I look forward to see what they will do next year.”
by Grace Spieker
The Pierce Lady Jays defeated the Lady Cardinals on Tuesday, October 18, at home. The Lady Jays took the game in three sets.
The girls came out strong in the first set, winning the first point of the set. Shianna Oestreich served five points in a row for the Lady Jays, which left the Lady Cardinals with a set loss 25 to 18.
In the second set of the game, a few of the Lady Jays had serving runs and left Randolph behind. Pierce won the set 25 to 13.
Going into the third set, Pierce had another good run with Maggie Brahmer serving five points in a row to finish the set 25 to 13 with the Lady Jays taking the game in three sets.
“I thought our girls came out ready to play tonight, and it was good to see them start on top and stay on top,” said head coach Brittany Case. “We have really been focusing on going strong all the way through the game.”
In stats for the night, Lexi Dunn led with 11 kills and Shianna Oestreich went 18 for 19 serves. For blocks, Carly Sutherland led with three total and one solo block, and she also led with 17 assists for the night. Krystina Schuett led with 10 digs and no errors.
This was the last regular season game this year for the Lady Jays. They traveled to Battle Creek on Monday, October 24, for the first round of the Mid-State tournament..
