PHS Volleyball Teams Compete
Launch the media gallery 1 playerVarsity Volleyball Competes in Wisner Tournament
by Rhayna Waldner
The varsity volleyball team headed to Wisner to play in a tournament on Saturday, September 23. After playing three games against Wayne, Madison, and Laurel-Concord/Coleridge, the Lady Jays came out of the tournament 2-1 with their only loss to Wayne.
In the first game of the tournament, the Lady Jays played Wayne. The Lady Jays started off the set behind the the Blue Devils, but they fought back with the help of Sidney Zimmerer and Maggie Brahmer going on serving runs. At the end, Wayne managed to edge out the Lady Jays 23-25. In the second set of the game, the Lady Jays lost their momentum. Brenna Collison went on a short serving run, but the Blue Devils took control, defeating the Lady Jays 16-25.
Individually, Brahmer led the team in kills with ten, and Rhayna Waldner and Zoe Brenden each had two. Zimmerer had two service aces, and Brahmer had one. Brahmer also led the team in blocks with six, and Katrina Meier had five. Zimmerer had 12 digs, and Maci Kroupa had seven. Kayla had 12 assists, and Kenzie Moeller had four.
The next game for the Lady Jays in the tournament was Madison. The team was able to build their momentum back up and win the first set 25-17 with the help of Grace Spieker and Collison going on serving runs. In the second set, Collison and Simmons went on serving runs to contribute to their teams’ 25-21 victory.
Individually for the game, Brahmer led the team in kills with eight, and Collison had three. Spieker and Collison each had two service aces. Brahmer, Waldner, and Meredith Fasse had two blocks each and Zimmerer and Kroupa had eight and seven digs, respectively. Simmons had 12 assists, and Moeller had five.
In the final game of the tournament, the Lady Jays faced the LCC Bears. The first set of the game was close until the end, and Brahmer, Moeller, and Kroupa all went on serving runs to help the Lady Jays squeak past the Bears 25-23. In the last set of the game, the Lady Jays held the Bears under 15 points. Collison, Simmons, and Zimmerer all went on long serving runs to aide their team with a 25-14 victory.
Individually, Brahmer and Waldner led the team in kills with seven and four, respectively. Brahmer had four service aces and Simmons had two. Fasse had four blocks and Waldner had three. Collison, Kroupa, and Zimmerer had four digs each, and Simmons and Moeller had nine and eight assists, respectively.
The varsity Lady Jays’ next game will be a triangular with Ponca and Dakota Valley on Thursday, September 28, at Ponca.
Varsity Volleyball Battles Lutheran High
by Rhayna Waldner
The varsity volleyball team played the Lutheran High Northeast Eagles on Thursday, September 21, at home. After three sets of play, the Lady Jays fell to the Eagles 16-25, 17-25, and 21-25.
In the first set of the game, the Lady Jays and the Eagles battles back and forth points with the help of Kayla Simmons’ and Kenzie Moeller’s serving runs. Losing their momentum towards the end of the set, Pierce fell 16-25.
In the second set, the Lady Jays still searched for the momentum they lost to come back and fight the Eagles. Simmons and Moeller aided the Lady Jays by going on more serving runs this set. Unfortunately for Pierce, they dropped the second set to Lutheran High 17-25.
In the final set of the game, the Lady Jays fought back but fell short with a final set score of 21-25. Brenna Collison, Moeller, and Simmons went on long serving runs to help their team catch up to the Eagles.
Individually, Maggie Brahmer led the team in kills with eight, and Rhayna Waldner had four. Sidney Zimmerer had two service aces, and Simmons and Zoe Brenden each had one. Brahmer led the team in blocks with two, and Zimmerer and Collison led the team in digs with 20 and 11, respectively. Moeller and Simmons each had nine assists.
The Lady Jays’ next game will be a triangular with Ponca and Dakota Valley on Thursday, September 28, at Ponca.
Varsity Volleyball Falls to Trojans
by Rhayna Waldner
The Pierce High volleyball team traveled to Hartington to play the undefeated Cedar Catholic Trojans on Tuesday, September 19. After three sets of play, the Lady Jays fell to the Trojans.
In the first set, the Lady Jays and Trojans exchanged serving runs, with Hartington taking longer ones than Pierce. The Lady Jays fell this set 16-25. In the next set, Hartington took the lead in the beginning and kept it throughout the rest of the set. Zoe Brenden helped out the Lady Jays by going on a serving run in the middle of the set, but at the end of the set, the Lady Jays fell to HCC with the score reading 13-25. In the final set of the game, Pierce could not get their momentum to match the Trojans’ and lost 8-25.
Individually, Maggie Brahmer led the team in kills with eight, and Meredith Fasse had four. Brenden led the team in aces with two, and Brahmer and Fasse had two and three blocks, respectively. Sidney Zimmerer had eight digs, and Kayla Simmons and Kenzie Moeller had six and seven assists, respectively.
The Lady Jays’ next game will be a triangular with Ponca and Dakota Valley on Thursday, September 28, in Ponca.
JV Volleyball Falls to Eagles
by Montana Ruppert
The Pierce JV volleyball team played against the Lutheran High Eagles Thursday, September 21, at Pierce High School and lost two sets out of two.
The Lady Jays struggled in the first set, as they lost with a score of 10-25. In the second set, the Lady Jays improved on both sides of the ball and came a bit closer to the Eagles, but the game still ended in Lutheran High’s favor after the Eagles defeated the Lady Jays 16-25.
JV coach Mr. Zach Weber said, “I was proud of the way we approached to second set. We were much more disciplined and determined. We need to bring that focus and intensity into every game.”
The next JV volleyball game will be Tuesday, October 3, at Pierce High School against Wayne and Boone Central/Newman Grove.
JV Volleyball Team Falls to Hartington CC
by Montana Ruppert
The JV volleyball team played Hartington Cedar Catholic Tuesday, September 19, at Hartington and lost to the Trojans in two sets.
According to coach Zach Weber, the JV Lady Jays did a nice job keeping up with the Trojans, considering they are the best team that the team has faced this season.
Coach Weber said, “In the second set, our effort and defensive intensity was great, which led to a better offense. We need to come ready to play from point one. It took a while for us to adjust to their skill and speed. Our hitting has improved this season, but we need to continue to develop if we want to beat good teams. We also need to be more disciplined in all facets of the game.”
The next JV volleyball game will be Tuesday, October 3, at Pierce High School against Boone Central.
Freshman Volleyball Loses to LHNE
by Montana Ruppert
The freshman volleyball team played Lutheran High Tuesday, September 21, at Pierce High School and lost to them in two sets.
The freshman team kept up with the Eagles in the first set, which ended in a close score of 21-25. Mikala Stone and Alexis Schnoor went on serving runs in the set to aid their team.
In the second set, despite another run from Stone, the Jays fell to the Eagles again with a score of 20-25.
The next freshman game will be Thursday, October 5, at Pierce High School against O’Neill.
Freshman Volleyball Team Falls to Hartington CC
by Montana Ruppert
The freshman volleyball team played Hartington Cedar Catholic Tuesday, September 19, at Hartington and lost to them in two sets.
The freshman volleyball team had a close first set against the Trojans ending with a score of 24-26. Faith Lubischer went on a six-point run in the middle of the set. Kailey Marks also went a serving run, earning the team four points towards the end of the game.
In the second set, the Lady Jays fell a little shorter than the first set. They ended with a score of 23-25. Alexis Schnoor went a three-point serving run, and Abigail Meier went on a three-point serving run at the end of the game.
Coach Krista Meyer said, “I liked what we did at the net. I think our hitting has improved as well as our blocking. Serving and passing is always the name of the game, and lately we've been struggling with that, and it's costing us too many points. Defensively, we need to get a lot more disciplined as well. We really have to focus on the fundamentals and mentally being prepared for every ball that's coming to us every single time. We are sometimes surprised to have to play defense or pass the ball, and that makes it harder for us to execute. But these girls are hard workers, so I'm excited to get back in the gym to get some more reps.”
The next freshman volleyball game will be Saturday, September 30, at Pierce High School for their home tournament.
JH Volleyball Competes Against Hartington CC
by Rhayna Waldner
The 7th and 8th grade volleyball teams traveled to Hartington to play the Cedar Catholic Trojans on Monday, September 18. The 7th grade B team lost in two sets, and the A team won in two sets. The 8th grade B team lost in two sets, and the A team won in three sets.
To start off the games, the 7th grade B team played first. In the beginning of the first set, the Trojans took a slight lead, but a serving run from Katelyn Gubbels tied the Lady Jays up. Alena Peters also went on a serving run this set to help her team out. Despite their efforts, the Lady Jays lost this set 18-25. In the second set, Pierce came back but still fell at the end of the set with a close score of 21-25. Isabelle Skrdla helped her team out by going on a long serving run to help her team out.
Following this game was the 7th grade A team. In the first set, the Trojans and Lady Jays battled back and forth in the beginning of the set until Ella Gaes went on a serving run to give the Lady Jays the lead they needed to win the set 25-17 with Kallie Edins finishing off the last three serves to get to 25. In the second set, the Lady Jays continued to thrive. With another long serving run, Gaes helped her team out once again by giving them a lead that gave them momentum to finish off the game strong with Brielle Unseld serving the last points. The final score was 25-19.
“Overall, I am really happy with how the 7th graders are doing,” said Coach Kathleen Brummels. “Over the first few games, they have already shown improvement, which is a great thing. The biggest things we need to work on are communication and rotations.”
At the conclusion of the 7th grade games, the 8th grade games got underway, kicking things off with the B team. To start off the first set, Michaela McWilliams went on a seven-point serving run to give the Lady Jays an early lead. Taylor Compton also went on a serving run to help out her team. Unfortunately for Pierce, they lost this close set 22-25. In the next set, the Trojans and the Lady Jays battled back and forth until Hartington took the lead with long serving runs to end the set with a final score of 14-25.
The 8th grade A team was the last to play. To start out the three-set victory for the Lady Jays, Marlie Kroupa and Graison Pfeiffer went on serving runs to help their team keep up with the Trojans. At the end of the set, the score read 19-25 with the Lady Jays falling to the Trojans. But, this did not let their hopes of winning the match down, for they came back and won the second set 25-22. Helping out the Lady Jays this set were Gina Wragge and Kroupa with long serving runs. Having won the second set, Pierce pushed the game into a third set to declare the winner. The Lady Jays were not going to stop there, as they won this set 15-4. Wragge, Kroupa, and Kennedy Warneke all went on six-, five-, and four-point serving runs, respectively, to finish off the game.
“The girls continue to play well and improve,” said Coach Angie Schroeder.
The junior high volleyball girls’ next game will be Thursday, September 28, at home against the Madison Dragons.
