Lady Jays Volleyball
Bluejay Volleyball Goes 6-0 at Wakefield Tournament
By Emma Risinger
On Saturday, Sept. 9, volleyball competed in the Wakefield Tournament, playing four matches, going 6-0 for the entire tournament and claiming first place.
In the first game of the day against Wakefield, in both the first and second set, Pierce defeated the Trojans 25-17.
Claudia Riggert added two blocks and a dig. Skylar Scholting contributed two aces and two digs. Jaya Wachholtz provided two aces, and five digs, Nora Herian three digs, and Maggie Painter had an ace and six digs.
Head coach Zach Weber provided his positive remarks on the team’s performance, as well as his intentions for improvement, “I'm happy with how we played,” he said. “We went 6-0 this tournament, and we're improving in many areas. [We] need to keep focused and working.”
Next up, Pierce won 2-0 against Ponca. In the first set, the Bluejays finished with a 25-19 and went 25-9 in the second set.
Wachholtz had an ace and eight digs. Ava Knox provided two aces and three digs and Painter contributed three aces and eleven digs.
In the third game against Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, Pierce went 2-1, winning 25-13 in the first set, in the second set, lost 25-23, but came back again in the third set 25-15.
Riggert contributed two blocks, five aces, and two digs, Scarlett Babl had four aces and two digs, Wachholtz had two blocks and seven digs, and Painter provided an ace and 13 digs.
Riggert gave projections for the team’s improvement this season when she said, “We’re still a young team, so we have a lot of little things to improve on, but if we figure those things out and keep improving like we are, then I think we’ll have a really successful season.”
Finally, in the fourth and last game of the day, against Lutheran High Northeast, Bluejays again won 2-0. Pierce pulled ahead 25-23 in the first set, and in the second, 25-15.
Wachholtz contributed an ace and eight digs, Knox contributed an ace and ten digs, Herian made five digs, and Painter provided three aces and six digs.
Bluejay volleyball will next play at home against Crofton on Thursday, Sept. 14. Freshmen play at 5:30, followed by JV at 6:30 p.m. and varsity will be up at 7:30.
Lady Jays Sweep Lady Knights
By Lauren Ueding
Pierce High Lady Jays volleyball team swept Norfolk Catholic Lady Knights in three sets on Thursday, Aug. 31.
The Pierce girls battled through the first set and ended up 27-25. The second set was an easy 25-12 win for the Lady Jays. Then, in the final set, the Lady Jays battled through and came out of the set by winning with a score of 25-23.
The stats from that night show that senior Jaya Wachholtz led the team with 17 kills, freshman Nora Herian took 12 kills, and junior Claudia Riggert hit seven kills.
Junior Skylar Scholting had 35 set assists.
On the defensive side, Herian led the team with 12 digs and Painter with eight digs.
Riggert and sophomore Abigail Cone had three blocks and Herian and junior Natalie Kosch had two blocks each.
“I am obviously really happy that we were able to come away with a win anytime we go into Norfolk Catholic. On the road, you know, it's going to be a tough day. So to come away with three sets is pretty good. There were a lot of positive takeaways from the game for sure, but we also have a lot we can learn from,” said head coach Zach Weber. “Overall it was a very good day and I’m really proud of the way we came through with those tight sets.”
The C-team also swept the Knights 2-0 and the JV team lost to the Knights 0-2.
JV Volleyball Competes at Wisner Tournament
By Abbie Cone
On Saturday, Sept. 9, the Pierce Lady Jays JV volleyball team traveled to Wisner to take part in a 16-team tournament, and Pierce finished the day 2-1.
In the first game, the Lady Jays took on Clarkson-Leigh but despite the effort, the Lady Jays fell 2-1. Pierce lost the first set 25-16, but then rallied back to win the second 25-18. However in the final set, the Jays fell 15-8.
During the second game Pierce settled in and beat Tri County Northeast 2-1. In the first set, the Bluejays triumphed 25-17, but dropped the second in a close set of 25-23, and finally pulled out a third set victory 15-11.
To finish off the day, the Bluejays played Madison and rallied for a win 2-1. Pierce started off strong 25-21, but fell in the second 25-18. In the third, the Lady Jays fought back and came out victorious 15-10.
“I think our JV really got a lot better at communicating,” C-Team coach Allie Spence comments. “We obviously had some rough times, but we always came back with good energy. As always, we will keep working on defense and serve receive, but we did a good job of being aggressive up at the net.”
The Lady Jays next matchup is Thursday, Sept. 14, against Crofton.
Pierce C Team Hosts Triangular
By Jana Stone
The Pierce Lady Jays hosted a C team triangular on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 5:30. The first game was Pierce against Wayne. Then Wayne played Battle Creek, and the last game was Pierce against Battle Creek.
Pierce won the first game against Wayne in two sets. The first set had a score of 25-18 and the second set was 25-21.
“I feel like we did pretty well,” freshman Haley Scholting says. “We really worked on being positive and having energy, which helped us a lot to keep the rallies going.”
The final game was tougher for the Lady Jays. Battle Creek kept the battle going and the Bravettes won two sets. The first set ended 25-19 and the second set the Lady Jays tried to fight for the win but were not able to make it happen, and the set ended 25-22.
Freshman coach Allie Spence says, “I think our girls are great at communicating on the court! They keep positive energy through every match and are always aggressive at the net.”
The C team will play again Thursday, Sept. 12 against Battle Creek.
