PHS Lady Jays Volleyball
Lady Jays Lose Nail-Biter to Eagles
by Kenzie Moeller
The varsity Lady Jays volleyball team traveled to O’Neill to take on the Eagles Thursday, October 4 and lost a hard-fought battle.
Pierce finished two points short to lose the first set 23-25. Again, the Lady Jays missed the win by two in the second set, 24-26. The Lady Jays showed determination and won the third set, 25-21. From the win in the third set, the Lady Jays had momentum to win the fourth set, 25-23. But the Lady Jays couldn’t get the win in set five,13-15, so O’Neill took the game.
Senior Maggie Brahmer led the Lady Jays in attacking with twenty-two kills; senior Rhayna Waldner spiked ten. Senior Kayla Simmons led the team in serving aces with four, and close behind was sophomore Faith Lubischer with three. Brahmer also led the team in blocking with six, and Waldner blocked one. Moeller led with fourteen digs, and Simmons and Waldner had eleven apiece. Simmons led the team with thirty assists.
Coach Brittany Weber said, “I was happy with our approach to this game. We fought hard and we did a lot of little things really well. We were the first to 20 in the first three sets, but unfortunately we played scared at the end and let them come back in two of those sets. We have a lot of positives to build on, and it’s time to look ahead to GACC, who is playing at a very high level right now.”
The varsity volleyball team will take on the Scotus Shamrocks and celebrate parents’ night on Thursday, October 18 at home starting at 5 p.m.
Varsity Volleyball Competes in Wayne
by Kenzie Moeller
The varsity volleyball team played Boone Central Cardinals and Wayne Blue Devils in a tournament on Tuesday, October 2 at Wayne. The Lady Jays won the first and lost the second game.
In the Boone Central game the Lady Jays started the first set flat and lost 22-25. But the Lady Jays found momentum and won the second set 27-25, then kept fighting and ended on top in the third, 25-15 to win the game.
Senior Maggie Brahmer led the team with kills with seventeen, followed by senior Rhayna Waldner with five. Junior Tazlynn Sporleder and sophomore Kenzie Moeller led the team in serving aces with two. Again, Brahmer led the Lady Jays in blocking with six. Senior Marie Stone led the team in digging with twenty-five digs, and Moeller had twenty-two.
In the Wayne game the Lady Jays lost in two sets, 17-25 and 14-25.
Brahmer led the Lady Jays with eight kills and Waldner spiked two. Senior Kayla Simmons served a 100% average. Again, Brahmer led the team with blocking with two. Moeller led the team with eighteen digs, and Stone had ten.
Coach Brittany Weber said, “We were a little flat during both games especially in serving and passing. We were not able to hit our spots aggressively in our serve, and we made too many errors to be successful. Defensively we were inconsistent, which greatly limited our offense. We have a lot of potential with this team, but we have to be solid in the fundamental aspects of the game or we will continue to struggle.”
The varsity volleyball team will take on the Scotus Shamrocks on Pierce’s home court starting at 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 18, when the team will celebrate parents’ night.
JV Volleyball Defeats Eagles
by Montana Ruppert
The JV volleyball team played the O’Neill Eagles Thursday, October 4, and beat them in two sets.
The Lady Jays and Eagles fought back and forth in the first set, but Pierce pulled through and won 25-21.
In the second set, the Lady Jays blew out the Eagles 25-15.
Coach Zach Weber said, “We played well as a team. Our serving and passing continued to be very good, and that leads to success in other aspects of the game.”
The next JV volleyball game will be Thursday, October 18, parents night.
JV Volleyball Plays in Wayne
by Montana Ruppert
The JV volleyball team played in the Wayne triangular Tuesday, October 2, where they won against Boone Central in two sets and lost against Wayne in two sets.
In the first set against Boone Central, the Lady Jays won 25-22.
In the second set, Pierce won 25-16.
In the Lady Jay’s second game, they played Wayne and barely lost the first set 25-27.
For the second set, the Lady Jays lost 15-25.
Coach Krista Meyer said, “I think the girls played really well, but had too many of our own errors that were tough to come back from. Our girls are passing really well right now, and that’s huge in this game. It’s given us the ability to have some great swings from the front row. I think we just need to always need to remember to be smart with the ball and not put ourselves in a situation to have to fight back.”
The next JV volleyball game will be Thursday, October 18, against Scotus, and it is parents night.
Freshman Volleyball Plays O’Neill
by McKenna Shonka
The freshman Lady Jays volleyball team traveled to O’Neill on Thursday, October 4. The final game score was 0-2, O’Neill with the win.
Pierce fell a little short in the first set, 23-25 and lost the second 19-25. Gina Wragge helped the team with a three-serve run during the first set. In the second set, Graison Pfeiffer accomplished a five-serve run.
Coach Krista Meyer commented, “I think we started out really well in the first set and that gave us an early lead. I was super proud of our defense and how hard the girls worked!" Coach Meyer expressed that offensively Pierce passed really well at the beginning, “which gave us some good swings. Defensively we played disciplined, especially in the first set.” Some positives according to Coach Meyer: "I just love seeing the improvements that the team has made throughout the games. The girls have really stepped up in their own ways and have come together, and I am proud of that."
Next game for the freshman Lady Jays is Thursday, October 18 on the home court against Scotus, which is also parents’ night.
JH Traveled to Norfolk Catholic
by McKenna Shonka
JH volleyball team traveled to Norfolk Catholic on Saturday, October 6. The seventh grade had a final set score of 0-2. The eighth grade A team had a final set score of 0-2. The JH B team for the eight graders had a final set score of 0-2
In the first set for the seventh grade team the final was 3-25. The second set the final was 14-25. Trina Wetzel with a two serving run in the first set. Going into the second set Trina Wetzel with at it again with a four serving run. Madelyn Hanson with a three serving run in the second set.
Commented by Coach Katie Brummels, “Overall we played kinda sluggish. However we had some touches and blocks on the ball, so that was something positive we haven't seen yet.” Also commented by Coach Brummels, “Looking into the future we are hoping we can come out with more fire for our next game for a win.”
For the eighth grade A team the final for the first set is 10-25. In the second set they were close but just short with the final 20-25. For the B team for the eighth graders in the first set were close again, but just short with a final of 21-25. In the second the final is 10-25.
The next game for the JH volleyball team is Thursday, October 11 on the Pierce court against Crofton.
Pierce Plays Panthers
by Tazlynn Sporleder
The Pierce junior high volleyball teams played the Norfolk Panthers on Thursday, October 4 at Pierce.
The seventh grade volleyball team lost in four sets. Pierce won one set and Norfolk won three sets. The first set the ending score was 13-25. Madelyn Hanson had a three point serving run with two aces in the set. Pierce lost the second set 9-25. Trina Wetzel had a four point serving run in set two.
In the third set Pierce came out with fire and won 25-20. Peyton Wieting went on an eight point serving run to help the Bluejays over the Panthers. The Panthers came back and won the fourth set 11-25. Pierce fought hard but could not pull off the set win.
Coach Katie Brummels said “ Our strength was working together as a team, and something we can improve on is passing and setting the ball up more. Overall the game was good; we knew that Norfolk was tough, and we were happy to come out winning one set.”
The Pierce eighth grade A team won in two sets. The first set was 25-18. At one point Pierce went on an eight point serving run.
It was a back and forth battle between the two teams for set two, but Pierce came out on top with the 25-23 set win. Ella Gaes went on a three point serving run to help the Lady Jays keep the lead.
The eighth grade B team lost in two sets. The first set score was 10-25. The Lady Jays fought hard but could not pull off the win. In the second set Pierce lost 13-25. Morgan Schnoor went on a four point serving run.
Coach Angie Schroeder said, “The team is continuing to improve on putting the offense together.”
