Sports News Sept 29th - Oct 4th
Runners take on UNK Cross Country Invite
by Aidan Jones
Pierce High’s varsity cross country runners attended the UNK Invite in Kearney Monday, September 29.
Senior Shannah Unseld competed in the girls’ 5K run and placed 48th with a time of 23:49. Then freshman Justin Larson competed in the boys’ race and placed 127th with a speed of 22:14.
“The team didn’t quite meet my expectations, but they were not far from it,” said coach Gary Shada. Shada also said that its really tough with Unseld recovering from bronchitis, but she is getting back to the running form she was in. Also, freshman Larson is still learning how to adjust his pace for an entire race. But overall, Shada is generally happy with his team’s performance.
The next meet for the cross country runners was at Stanton on Thursday, October 2, and they will run in the Mid State meet at Albion on Friday, October 10.
Golf Girls Take 4th at Mid State
by Aidan Jones
Pierce girls’ golf took 4th place September 30, at the Mid State Girls’ Conference Tournament in O’Neill, scoring a total of 425 strokes as a team.
Pierce had five girls compete out of 48 total in the meet. Pierce’s Breanna Attema place 3rd with a score of 89. Bailey Tinker, with a score of 104, placed 13th. Kim Carlson got 17th with 107. Amber Albrecht got 40th and Paige Johnson placed 42nd both with scores of 125.
The team’s strong performance is due to hard and focused work in practice. “The girls have really been working on their grip and swing. Also they have corrected some of the small mistakes in their form and swing,” said coach Melinda Stelling, Stelling said she is very pleased with their performance because four out of the five girls beat or tied their best scores, but they will continue to work hard and get better.
“I’m a little worried about the next competition because of the fact that it’s districts and that it is do-or-die time; this next meet decides if they go to state. Plus, there will be some really good competition,” Stelling said, looking ahead to the team’s next contest, which is districts Monday, October 6, at Fairplay Golf course in Norfolk.
JH Jays Fall to Cardinals
by Alec Price
Taking on the Boone Central Cardinals on Tuesday, September 30, the junior high football Bluejays played their hearts out, but still suffered a loss at 6 to 28.
With the seventh and eighth graders combined playing against the Cardinals, the Jays had their strong points and weak points throughout the game.
The offense definitely struggled throughout the game, having to overcome many obstacles, including the size of some of the young players from Boone Central.
According to coach Bob Coakes, many of the problems originated on the offensive line, where certain players couldn’t follow through with their blocking schemes.
The Jays didn’t fall behind by much in the first two quarters, with a relatively close score of 6 to 12 going into the third quarter.
In the second half, however, Boone Central continued to score, allowing the Cardinals to take a comfortable 6 to 28 lead and win the game.
Despite the loss, the coaches see many good things happening for the junior high program. Coach Coakes said, “Several kids showed the driving commitment to the game. These kids were trying to lead by example and played hard throughout the entire game. We as coaches see improvements every game we play.”
The JH Jays played on Tuesday, October 7, against Wayne, and will play their next game on Tuesday, October 14, as they travel to take on Battle Creek.
Freshman Lady Jays Brawl Bears
by Krystina Schuett
Starting a night of Lady Jay volleyball in Laurel with a victory, the freshman volleyball team beat the Laurel-Concord/Coleridge Bears 2 sets to 1 on Tuesday, September 30.
The Lady Jays began the game with a one-point lead over the Bears. Sidney Zimmerer increased the lead by going on a ten-point serving run. Maci Kroupa furthered the lead even more when she went on a sizeable six-point serving run. Defensively, the Lady Jays held the Bears to only four points. The Lady Jays won the first set by a dominating score of 21 to 4.
The Lady Jays started the second set slow and allowed the Bears to go on a few lengthy serving runs. Unable to side out and keep the serve, the Lady Jays couldn’t get themselves the lead. The Lady Jays finished the second set 10 to 21, losing to the Bears.
Going into a third set, the Lady Jays wanted the win. The Lady Jays’ communication and passion pulled through in the third set and led them with a victory over the Bears 15 to 7.
Coach Angie Schroeder said, “They started out strong and communicated pretty well.” Schroeder also said that the girls showed a little more passion for the game and had more fun.
The freshman Lady Jays’ next game was a tournament in Pierce on Saturday, October 4. Their following game is Thursday, October 9, in O’Neill.
JV Lady Jays Silence Bears
by Shianna Oestreich
Traveling to Laurel, the JV Lady Jays beat the Bears in three sets on Tuesday, September 30.
Playing on their heels, the Lady Jays lost the first set to the Bears. Shianna Oestreich hammered three serves over for three points, but the team’s defense struggled throughout the rest of the set, especially with one server who was able to steal six points with her serving for Laurel. The Lady Jays’ serving did not help them through the set, and the Jays lost 21 to 25.
Bringing up the heat, the Lady Jays attacked to win the set in the second. Serving improved with the set as Krystina Schuett started the Jays off with a four-point serving run. Meredith Fasse powered in another three points with her serving. Ellie Moeller added three more points to the scoreboard for the Jays. Leaving the Bears defenseless, the Jays finished off the set with a sizeable lead of 25 to 12.
Unafraid to hit the floor, the Lady Jays’ defense put them on top for the final set. Rallying side outs, the Lady Jays and the Bears battled for the lead. But as the Jays hammered across hit after hit and were able to get up dig after dig, the Lady Jays pulled out a 15 to 13 win.
JV coach Deb Koehlmoos said, “I liked how [the team] finished strong. We were able to come back mentally and play tough. At the end of third, set we didn’t play soft.” Koehlmoos said one thing for the girls to improve is to come out mentally strong and to stay there the whole game, and not just fire up when they need to.
The JV Lady Jays’ next game is a triangular with Wayne and Boone Central at home on Tuesday, October 7. The Jays travel to O’Neil on Thursday, October 9, for the next game.
Lady Jays Prevail Against Laurel
by Emily Simmons
Coming out victorious, the Pierce varsity volleyball team traveled to play Laurel-Concord/Coleridge on Tuesday, September 30. The Jays dominated in all three sets.
Pierce came out strong and ready to play in the first set. Sydney Silhacek started up the game with serving four points in a row, two being aces, to give the Jays the early lead of 4 to 0. Allison Koehlmoos extended the lead 7 to 1 with her three-point serving run. Pierce controlled the game offensively and defensively as they stayed on top the rest of the set. Rachel McGill contributed to the score with one ace. The set went to the Lady Jays with a score of 25 to 13.
In the second set, the Jays were full of energy. Silhacek went on a five-point serving run, giving Pierce the lead of 5 to 0. Koehlmoos added three points to the scoreboard with one being an ace. The Lady Jays ruled the court offensively and consistently kept a strong lead over the Bears. Shelby Bretschneider served five points in a row, making the lead 17 to 6. McGill served the last three points of the set. Out of those three, two were aces. The score of the second set was 25 to 10.
Starting out third set, Pierce came out vigorously. Silhacek served up four points right away before the Bears could side out, making the score 4 to 0. Koehlmoos also contributed four serves in a row for the Jays. Pierce took charge and stayed on top. The girls worked hard and added more points the score throughout the set. Koehlmoos went on another four-point serving run, giving the Jays a large lead. The Lady Jays took the set from Laurel with a score of 25 to 15.
Leading the team in kills was Koehlmoos with eight. Silhacek went twenty-one for twenty-one in serving. Jaci Brahmer led with five blocks. Casey Sutherland had fourteen digs. Silhacek led in assists with twenty-six.
Head coach Katlyn Donovan said, “I thought we did well. We kept them under 15 all three sets and didn’t play down to their level. We needed this win to take us to the next level.” She thought the girls served well, and stayed aggressive and positive. Her goal for the varsity is to take the next step to becoming the best team possible.
The Lady Jays had a game at Pierce on Tuesday, October 7, and their next game will be Thursday, October 9, at O’Neill.
JH Cross Country Jays Host Meet
By Merissa Harris
Pierce’s junior high cross country team and coach hosted an invite at the Pierce Community Golf Course on Tuesday, September 30, bringing many young runners to participate.
Both the girls’ and the boys’ races were two miles. Participating in the race were teams from Pierce, Yankton, Norfolk Catholic, Norfolk Public, South Sioux City, Logan View, Madison, Wayne, Humphrey St. Francis, Elkhorn Valley, and Stanton.
Participating in the race for the boys from Pierce were Cole Vogt and Jayden Sporleder. Cole Vogt placed in 21st with a time of 14:23, followed by Jayden Sporleder placing in 39th with a time of 16:10.
Pierce’s junior high girls, having enough runners to qualify as a team, placed eighth. Participating in the race for the girls from Pierce were Kiley Bierman, Janae Arens, Allie Vavra, Rachel Fenton, Aleah Olson, Macie Timm, and Cayce Carlson. Bierman placed in 14th with a time of 14:53, Arens placed in 19th with a time of 15:32, and Vavra placed in 45th with a time of 17:38. Fenton placed in 48th with a time of 17:54, followed by Olson placing in 51st with a time of 17:56, Timm placing 64th with a time of 20:04, and Carlson finishing in 66th with a time of 20:14.
The next junior high cross-country meet will be held in Yankton on Tuesday, October 14.
Freshman-Sophomore Jays Fall Short to Knights
by Krystina Schuett
The freshman-sophomore football Jays remained on their home field on Thursday, October 2, and challenged the Norfolk Catholic Knights but ended the game with a loss of 6 to 12.
During the first half of the game, both the Jays and the Knights battled hard. Ending the first half with no points on the scoreboard, both teams came out of half with the drive to hold the other team out of the end zone and did so successfully. The Knights scored a touchdown during the third quarter, starting their score with six points. The Jays weren’t able to keep up with the Knights and allowed them to score another six points in the quarter, making the score 0 to 12. Getting on the board in the fourth quarter, the Jays’ Caleb Sullivan scored a touchdown for six points. Although they played hard and with intensity, the Jays weren’t able to overtake the Knights’ lead and ended the game with a loss 6 to 12.
One of the team’s coaches, Grant Doerr was proud of the team and the way they played. Coach Doerr said, “I thought they played hard and with all around good effort. They had a chance in the end to win, but [they] just came up a little short.”
The Jays’ next game was at Norfolk Catholic, where the Jays faced the Knights again on October 6. Their following game is on Thursday, October 9, against Norfolk Public on the Panthers’ home field.
Cross Country Competes at Stanton Invite
by Amanda Hammer
Pierce High’s cross country runners competed at Stanton on Thursday, October, 2.
The meet at Stanton was held for seventh through twelfth grade athletes.
Starting with junior high girls, the top placer for PHS was Elizabeth Harris, placing 8th overall with a time of 8:17.7. Next was Kiley Bierman, placing 11th with a time of 8:21.0. Thirteenth place went Janae Arens with a time of 8:27.0. Placing 19th was Allie Vavra with a time of 8:41.8. Placing 25th was Rachel Fenton with a time of 9:16.5. Placing 26th was Aleah Olson with a time of 9:18.9. Placing 35th was Macie Timm with a time of 10:40.8. Finally, Cayce Carlson placed 37th with the time of 11:8.5. The junior high boys had two placers; Pierce’s top placer was Cole Vogt in 8th place with a time of 7:30.2. Next was Jayden Sporleder with 17th place and the time of 8:19.9.
For the PHS varsity team, senior Shannah Unseld placed 13th with a time of 27:37.6. Freshman Justin Larson placed 28th in the boys’ race with a time of 18:58.8.
“I was very happy with how everybody ran, and that out of the 12 that went 7 came home with medals,” said coach Gary Shada.
The next cross country meet is Friday, October 10, at Wayne for the varsity. This will be the Mid State meet. The junior high runners’ next meet is Thursday, October 9, also at Wayne.
JH Lady Jays Slay Dragons
by Shianna Oestreich
Making their way to Madison, the junior high Lady Jays swept the volleyball courts on Thursday, October 2. Pierce’s seventh grade team won in three sets, and the eighth grade team won in two.
The seventh grade teams took to the court first. Zoe Brenden started the game off with a four-point serving run for the young Lady Jays, two serves being aces. Destini Beckner hammered the next serving run of six points. Madison, unable to keep momentum on their side, fell behind after Maddie Hubber stole the next three points with her serving. Madison was able to sneak in a six-point serving run, but it was not enough to gain them the set. The Lady Jays won the set 25 to 18.
Falling behind in the next set, the Lady Jays were beaten by the Dragons. Madison started off their lead with an eight-point run. The Jays and the Dragons rallied side outs until Madison hit another serving run, this time of four points. The Lady Jays pushed until the end, but fell short to the Dragons ending with a 12 to 25 score.
Blowing up the scoreboard in the third set with their serving, the Lady Jays triumphed. Putting her team into the lead, Maiya Bauman added a major ten points to the board by her serving. The Dragons unsuccessfully tried to come back, and Beckner finished out the points for the Jays, ending the game 15 to 8.
The eighth grade game followed. The Jays conquered the Dragons in two quick sets. Brianna Aguilera put the A team into the lead by serving up eight points for the Jays. Rhayna Waldner increased that lead with a five-point serving run. Madison tried to come back after a side out, serving up three in a row, but was quickly stopped by an eight point serving run by Marie Stone. Maggie Brahmer finished out the set. The Jays won 25 to 7.
The Lady Jays’ B team finished out the game with the second set. Kaylee Dvorak started the lead for the Lady Jays with a nine-point serving run. Kayla Simmons added on five points to their lead with her serving. Madison snuck in a three-point run, but Abbey Fuerhoff covered it with her own five-point run. Ashlin Waneke finished out the points, and the Jays won 25 to 9.
Eighth grade coach Angie Schroeder prides on her teams serving. She said, “[We need to improve] basically all around skill improvement. We are improving slowly, so we need to hit the nail on the head and get going. Some kids are flat lining, so we will be working to get all the players on the same level.” The Jays will be doing this by continuing to plug away and making corrections.
The junior high’s next game was on Monday, October 6, at home against Randolph. Their next game will be against Norfolk JH at home on Thursday, October 9.
Jays Suffer Loss to Cardinals
by Alec Price
Being defeated by the number one ranked team in the state, the Jays pushed but didn’t reach victory against the Boone Central Cardinals on Friday, October 3, losing by a final score of 21 to 49.
The Jays fell behind early in the first quarter as Boone Central scored two early touchdowns and pulled ahead by 13 points. The Jays answered back with a 62-yard reception by Noah Fisher from Taggart Bailey, which allowed Yanik Hauri to kick for the extra point and bring the Jays within six points of the Cardinals.
As the second quarter was brought around, the Cardinals scored once again and succeeded in the 2-point conversion to bring the score to 6 to 21 with the Jays trailing.
Trying to spark the momentum for the Jays, Austin Freeman ran the ball for 62 yards to bring the Jays seven points closer to catching the Cardinals after Hauri made the extra point. Boone Central yet again answered back with another seven, however, which made the score 14 to 28 going into halftime.
After the break, the third quarter was a struggle for the Jays as the offense couldn’t score and the defense let up two Cardinal touchdowns.
In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals managed to score once more, but the Jays wouldn’t quit as Taggart Bailey came in clutch for the Jays’ last score of the game, getting a 19-yard run and bringing the final score to 21 to 49.
Pierce fell short of the Cardinals’ total offense by a relatively small margin, with the Jays totaling 483 yards of offense to the Cardinals’ 554.
Head coach Mark Brahmer said, “We were pleased with our overall effort and execution against Boone Central. Boone Central is a very good football team, but I thought our boys stood toe to toe with them for much of the game. On the other side of it, we aren’t going to be satisfied with the loss.”
The Jays will play at home on Friday, October 10, against West Point Beemer. Brahmer looks to work on certain aspects of the Jays’ game as they prepare to take on the Cadets. He said, “We have to focus on the improvements we need to make and continue to practice and prepare as hard as we can. If this team persists and keeps hammering away, good things will happen. We definitely believe we have a good football team, a team that can play deep in November.”
Lady Jays Play in Mid State Softball Tourney
by Hailey Race
Falling short in two games, the Pierce High softball team came home early from the Mid State tournament in Wayne on Saturday, October 4. The Lady Jays went one and two, beating Boone Central but falling to GACC and O’Neill.
To start the tournament, the Lady Jays first faced GACC. After they drew the visiting team, the Lady Jays headed to the bats first. Hannah Higgins brought up the first out with a pop up that was caught in right field. Hailey Race was walked, but Rachelle Tucker and Briana Polt brought up the second and third outs, and the Lady Jays took the field. Defensively, the Lady Jays allowed four runs, which left them behind 0 to 4 after the first.
In the second inning, the Lady Jays went through offense quickly with grounded outs from Synthia Schuett, Kayla Reinke, and Brandi Sporleder. Defensively, the Lady Jays let up one run in this inning, still leaving them behind 0 to 5.
On the bats again for the third, McKenzie Kallhoff grounded out for the first out of the inning. Annie Johnson got walked, but Higgins followed with a strikeout, and Race with a grounded out to end the offensive side. On the field, the Lady Jays let up one run before they got their three outs and left the inning trailing 0 to 6.
In the fourth, the Lady Jays started on the bats with a double from Tucker, but three grounded outs followed from Polt, Schuett, and Reinke ended the inning, but brought Tucker across the plate. Defensively, the Lady Jays let up another run in this inning, which left them behind 1 to 7.
Starting the fifth inning in the batter’s box, Sporleder started the Lady Jays with a double. Kallhoff brought up the first out with a grounded out to the short stop. Johnson was the next out with a strikeout. Higgins and Race followed with singles, and Higgins’ brought Sporleder across the plate. Tucker had another single to run Higgins across the plate, but Polt followed with the third grounded out. In the field, the Lady Jays let up a final two runs and headed to the bats trailing 3 to 9.
In the sixth and final inning, the Lady Jays started their bats with a single from Schuett. Reinke followed with a walk. Sporleder brought up the first out, but had an RBI for Schuett to cross the plate. Kallhoff followed with a walk, but Johnson brought up out number two. Higgins came up with the third out, and with GACC not needing to bat again, the Lady Jays fell 4 to 9.
The Lady Jays headed into their second game ready to face Boone Central, with the home team advantage. In the first inning, the Lady Jays held Boone Central to zero runs and headed for the bats quickly. Offensively, Higgins and Race brought up the first two outs with pop ups that were caught. Tucker had a single, and Polt followed with an additional single to run Tucker across the plate. Schuett grounded out for the third out, and the Lady Jays ended the inning up 1 to 0.
Defensively, in the second inning, the Lady Jays let up five runs, but came back offensively and crossed the plate with Higgins, Race, Tucker, Polt, Sporleder, Kallhoff, Johnson, and Reinke, which left them with a lead of 10 to 5.
In the third inning, the Lady Jays went three-up, three-down defensively and headed for the bats. The Lady Jays struggled on the bats this inning and went without a run after two grounded outs from Tucker and Polt, a single from Schuett, and a strikeout from Reinke. The Lady Jays ended the inning with a remaining lead of 10 to 5.
In the fourth inning, the Lady Jays went three-up, three-down on defense again, but fell on offense and did the same after two strikeouts from Sporleder and Kallhoff and a grounded out from Johnson, which left the score 10 to 5.
In the fifth and final inning, the Lady Jays again shut down Boone Central’s bats and didn’t let them get a run in. Offensively, the Lady Jays started with a strikeout from Higgins. Race followed with a single. Tucker pounded a triple to bring Race in, and Polt followed with a single to bring Tucker in. Schuett brought up the second out with a grounded out. Reinke followed with a double to bring in Polt, but Sporleder brought up the third out to end the game with the Lady Jays winning 13 to 5.
Pitcher Kayla Reinke had 6 strikeouts against the Cardinals.
In their third and final game, the Lady Jays took on O’Neill. With the home team advantage, the Lady Jays took the field first. In the first inning, the Lady Jays let up one run and headed to the batter’s box. Offensively, the Lady Jays went scoreless after grounded outs from Higgins and Race, a double from Tucker, and a single from Polt, but Tucker was thrown out at home for the third out, which left the Lady Jays behind 0 to 1.
In the second inning, the Lady Jays stopped O’Neill’s offense and left them without another run before they headed back to the bats. Schuett and Reinke grounded out first on the bats for two outs. Sporleder followed with a double, but Kallhoff brought up the third out with a strikeout, which left the Lady Jays still trailing 0 to 1.
The Lady Jays’ defense struggled in the third inning and let up a total of seven runs. Offensively, the Lady Jays started with a strikeout from Johnson. Higgins followed with a grounded out. Race followed with a single, and Tucker had a double to bring Race in. Polt hit a double to bring in Tucker, and Schuett brought in Polt with a single. Reinke then hit a single, but with a strikeout from Sporleder for the third out, the Lady Jays ended the inning behind 3 to 8.
In the fourth inning, the Lady Jays held their opponents to one run and headed back to the bats. Offensively, the Lady Jays started with singles from Kallhoff. Johnson, Higgins, and Race followed with grounded outs, and they left the inning trailing 3 to 9.
The Lady Jays played solid defense in the fifth inning and did not give up any runs. Offensively, the Lady Jays went with a walk from Tucker, a single from Polt, a grounded out from Schuett, a single from Reinke to bring in Polt, a single from Sporleder, a single and RBI from Kallhoff, and a strikeout from Johnson, which left the Lady Jays trailing 5 to 9.
In the final inning, the Lady Jays let up a final two runs before they got the three outs they needed and headed back to the bats for the last time. Offensively, Higgins and Race brought up the first two outs with grounded outs. Tucker and Polt followed with singles, but Schuett brought up the third out and ended the game with the Lady Jays down 5 to 11.
Senior Synthia Schuett said, “There were moments where we were positive and had the initiative to win, but other times we started losing in our minds, and that became reality to our effort in the game.”
The Lady Jays hope to remedy some of these concerns as they prepare for their next game, which will be played in the district tournament in West Point on Thursday, October 9.
Freshmen Battle in Tourney
By Emily Simmons
Placing fourth, Pierce’s freshman volleyball team participated in a tournament on Saturday, October 4, at home. The tournament consisted of three games of pool play to twenty- one, and a tournament following. The Lady Jays tied with Randolph, won against Ponca, Hartington Cedar Catholic, and Plainview, and lost to Lutheran High Northeast and Wayne.
In the first round of pool play, Pierce battled against Randolph. Both teams started out with energy as the score was tied at four, but then the Jays started to struggle defensively. The Cardinals went on a serving run and took the lead 4 to 12. Pierce could not come from behind to grab lead. Randolph won the first set 14 to 21.
The second set was close. The Lady Jays and Cardinals both wanted the victory. Sidney Zimmerer served three points in a row to take the lead for the Lady Jays 4 to 2. However, Randolph kept fighting. Pierce would gain a lead, and Randolph would answer right back. Brenna Collison went on a four point serving run, and the game was all tied up at twenty. The Jays worked hard and won the set 22 to 20.
Coming out strong in the second round, Pierce played Ponca. The match was tied at four until Carly Sutherland went on a five-point serving run. Out of those five, four were aces. The Jays had excellent serving as Grace Spieker had three aces, and Maci Kroupa and Collison each had one. The Jays went on to win the first set 21 to 16.
The Jays came out ready to play the second set. Being down 3 to 6, Zimmerer brought the Jays back up with her six-point serving run. Out of those six, three were aces. Pierce took the lead 9 to 6. Ponca did not let Pierce stay ahead for long. They came back and tied the game at nine. From there, the score went back and forth until Ponca was ahead 14 to 16. The Jays played well defensively and offensively to take the lead away from the Indians. Spieker served up seven points in a row to end the game 21 to 16 for the Lady Jays.
To end the last round of pool play, Pierce took on Hartington Cedar Catholic. The Trojans started out with a lead of 4 to 7. Sutherland gained back the lead with her seven-point serving run. Out of the seven, six were aces. The Jays were ahead 11 to 8. The Jays kept adding points to the scoreboard defending their lead. Meredith Fasse served four points in a row to bring the first set to a close with a score of 21 to 13.
In the second set, both teams showed they wanted the win. Pierce had an early lead of 8 to 6. They continued to hammer away on offense to gain a larger lead of 11 to 7. Kroupa served four points in a row with one being an ace. Hartington lessened the lead when they went on an offensive streak of their own, making the score 15 to 12. Collison then went on a five-point serving run to pull the Jays ahead 20 to 12, but Hartington sided out and went on a huge serving streak to bring them within one. The Jays did not let that keep them from the victory, and Pierce won the set 21 to 19.
After pool play, to start off the first game of the tournament, Pierce played the Plainview Pirates. The match went back and forth for the first portion of the set. With the Pirates ahead 3 to 5, Kroupa had a five-point serving run, bringing the Jays ahead 8 to 5. However, the excitement and cheers of Plainview caught the Lady Jays off guard. The Lady Jays started to struggle in serving, and the Pirates tied the game 12. The Jays and Pirates rallied and sided out until Plainview took the lead 18 to 20. The last few points of the set were nerve racking for both teams. With the score tied at 26, one more point would decide the game. The Jays had the confidence to get the serve over the net and win the set 27 to 26.
The second set was not as exciting as the first. Serving was better for the Jays as Spieker, Zimmerer, and Fasse each had one ace, and Pierce came out with a lead of 8 to 6. Kroupa served four points in a row to extend the lead 12 to 7. However, the Pirates went on a serving run to tie the game at 15. Fasse served three points in a row to give Pierce the lead 18 to 15, and the Jays stayed on top the rest of the set, winning 25 to 19.
In the second round of the tournament, Pierce battled it out with Lutheran High. The Jays started out slow as they let the Eagles take an early lead of 0 to 6. Fasse decreased the lead to 4 to 7 from her three-point serving run with one being an ace. The Jays stayed close behind the Eagles but could not rise above to take the lead, and Lutheran High won the set 24 to 26.
The second set was started out close. Lutheran High took the lead over the Jays 4 to 2. The Eagles stayed ahead but only by one or two points. Still, the set was won by the Eagles with a score of 19 to 25, sending the Jays into the match for third place.
The third place game was played against and Wayne. The first four points went back and forth between both teams. The Jays struggled defensively and let the Blue Devils go on a serving run, making the score 4 to 8, and Pierce could not come from behind. The set ended with a score of 25 to 18.
Pierce came out with fire the second set. Zimmerer gave the Jays an early 7 to 2 lead with her five-point serving run. Fasse served an additional four points in a row to extend the lead 11 to 4. The Jays added more points to the scoreboard to be ahead for most of the set. Although Pierce was ahead, Wayne managed to come back and take the lead 17 to 18. From that point, the fight was on. Both teams rallied and sided out until Pierce came on top with a score of 27 to 26 sending the game into a third set.
In the third set, Wayne started out with an early lead of 3 to 1. Sutherland served three points in a row to bring the score 5 to 7. Pierce could not stop Wayne’s momentum. The Blue Devils went on a serving run that the Lady Jays could not terminate defensively. The game ended with a score of 10 to 15.
Freshman coach Angie Schroeder said her goals for the freshman team following this tournament and going into their next games are to see them serving better and executing a game plan. She also hopes to see them playing hard every ball and not get called for little unforced errors.
The next game for the freshman team will be Thursday, October 9, in O’Neilsl.
