PHS Lady Jays Volleyball
Varsity Lady Jays Defeat Randolph
by Rhayna Waldner
For their last regular season game, the Lady Jays traveled to Randolph to play the Cardinals on Tuesday, October 16. Being able to take down the Cardinals in four sets, the Lady Jays took the game with set scores of 25-15, 19-25, 25-17, and 25-21.
In the first set of the game, the Lady Jays started off strong and took an easy 12-4 lead with the help of serving runs from Kayla Simmons and Maggie Brahmer. Brenna Collison also went on a serving to help her team. The final set score was 25-15.
The Lady Jays lost their momentum and could not find their stride in the second set and lost 19-25. In the next set, the Lady Jays redeemed themselves and and won 25-17. Grace Spieker went on a long serving run this set to help her team.
In the fourth and final set of the game, the Lady Jays defeated the Cardinals 25-21. After back and forth sideouts the entire set, the Lady Jays were able to pull of the victory at the end.
Individually for the Lady Jays, Brahmer led the team in kills with 24, and Meredith Fasse had ten. Sidney Zimmerer had three service aces, while Collison had one. Brahmer and Katrina Meier had eight and seven blocks, respectively, and Zimmerer had 28 digs. Simmons led the team in assists with 21, and Spieker had 16.
The Lady Jays’ next games will be in the Mid-States Conference tournament at Norfolk Catholic. The games started on Monday, October 23, and will continue until Thursday.
JV Volleyball Team Defeats Randolph
by Montana Ruppert
In their final game of the season, the JV volleyball team played the Randolph Cardinals Tuesday, October 17, at Randolph and beat them in two sets.
The Lady Jays dominated in the first set, which ended with a win by the Jays 25-10. Marie Stone had a six-point serving run.
In the second set, the Lady Jays beat the Cardinals 25-16. Stone had another serving run in the set.
This game wrapped up the junior varsity team’s season. JV Coach Zach Weber said, “I’m really proud of the improvements made both individually and collectively over the course of this season. It was really nice to end the season on a win. I look forward to seeing how these girls progress and how they compete in the years to come.”
The JV Lady Jays went 6-9 overall this season.
JV Volleyball Drops Game to Eagles
by Montana Ruppert
Traveling to Norfolk, the JV volleyball team played Lutheran High Northeast on Monday, October 16. The team fell in two sets.
In the first set, Zoe Brendan went on a three-point serving run at the beginning of the game, but ultimately Pierce struggled to find its momentum and fell 12-25.
The second set, although much closer, ended with another loss for the Lady Jays by a score of 23-25. Rhylie Roth went on a four-point serving run at the end of the game as the Lady Jays attempted to overtake the Eagles, but LHNE edged them out in the end.
Coach Zach Weber said, “I was happy with the way we fought back in the second set, but we need a much better approach to games than we had that night. We were flat and played without energy for too long. I look forward to coming out much harder in our final game of the season.”
The JV volleyball team played their last game Tuesday, October 17, against Randolph.
Freshman Volleyball Team Ends Season With Win
by Montana Ruppert
To wrap up their 2017 season, the freshman volleyball team played on the road against Randolph Tuesday, October 17, and beat the Cardinals two sets to zero.
The first set was a close one, but the Lady Jays managed to pull ahead and edge out Randolph. The set ended with a win by the Lady Jays 25-21. In the second set, the Lady Jays beat the Cardinals 25-22. Faith Lubischer went on an eight-point serving run at the beginning of the game to start the Lady Jays off with some momentum.
Freshman coach Krista Meyer said, “I thought we passed really, really well. That was one skill that should've been pretty polished by the end of the year, and the girls showed that against Randolph. I already cannot wait to start getting reps with these girls again. I think hitting the weight room would be a huge benefit. These girls have a crazy amount of potential, and I can't wait to see what they are capable of doing next year. It's really hard to pinpoint a certain area where we made the most improvement; they made improvements in every aspect of the sport.”
This was the freshman team’s last game of the year. They finished with a winning record of 9-8 this season.
Freshman Volleyball Loses to LHNE
by Montana Ruppert
The freshman volleyball team played against the Lutheran High Northeast Lady Eagles in a road game on Monday, October 16. Unfortunately for the Lady Jays, they dropped the game in two sets.
In the first set, the Lady Jays fell 17-25. Faith Lubischer went on a five-point serving run, along with Mikala Stone, who went on a four-point run.
In the second set, the Jays fell short 16-25. Lubischer was able to gain momentum from behind the serving line, but the Lady Jays ultimately came up short.
Coach Krista Meyer said, “I thought we passed incredibly well, but we lacked defense. LHNE has a good freshman team, and they outplayed us that night."
The freshman volleyball team’s next game would be their final of the season, played against Randolph on Tuesday, October 17.
JH Volleyball Closes Season in Plainview
by Montana Ruppert
The junior high volleyball teams played their last games Monday, October 16, in Plainview, where the 8th A team won in two sets, the 8th B team lost in two sets, the 7th A team won in two sets, and the 7th B team lost in two sets.
In the first set of the 8th grade A, the Lady Jays won the first set 25-20. Kennedy Warneke went on a seven-point serving run. In the second set, the Jays took the win again 25-17. Gina Wragge, Marlie Kroupa, Payten Simmons, and Katie Vogt all had serving runs to aid the Lady Jays.
The 8th grade B team took the court and struggled to get an edge on the Pirates. They lost their first set 12-25, and in the second set, they lost 8-25.
In the 7th A game, the Lady Jays won the first set 25-12. Brielle Unseld and Kaila Spieker each had serving runs. In the second set, the Jays took the win 25-6. Morgan Moeller, Sarah Garrett, and Raegan Theisen all served several points in a row as the Lady Jays gained momentum.
In the 7th B game, the Jays came close in the first set but lost 22-25. Ciara Garcia and Keli Shermer each had serving streaks. In the second set, the Lady Jays struggled and lost 8-25.
These were the junior high Lady Jays’ final games of the season. The eighth grade coach Angie Schroeder said, “We improved greatly and I was very pleased with how the season went.” Adding to that, seventh grade coach Katie Brummels said, “Overall I was happy how the season went. The girls worked really hard the entire season which led to a lot of improvements. I was very happy with our improvements in knowing rotations, serving, and passing.”
