Lady Jays Volleyball
Lady Jays Defeat the Warriors
By Grace Behmer
The Lady Jays volleyball won 3-1 as they hosted the Crofton Warriors on September 14 .
Jaya Wachholtz had a total of 16 attacks during the game, while the team had a total of 44 kills on the night. Freshman Nora Herian added 12 kills, while Abigail Cone and Claudia Riggert added seven kills each.
“We did a good job on increasing our intensity and bouncing back after a rough first set. Overall we played very well and got a great conference win for the team,” says Riggert.
During the first set the Bluejays took the loss 25-15; however, the remainder of the game the Lady Jays dominated the remainder of the game; winning 25-12, 25-22, and 25-14.
Riggert and Wachholtz had three ace serves along with Scarlett Babl, Skyler Scholting, Herian and Maggie Painter each adding two aces.
“We played well this week and picked up two big wins against very good conference teams. I’m very proud of the way we bounced back after that first set. Handling adversity is definitely turning out to be a strength of this group,” states coach Zach Weber.
The Lady Jays have posted a 13-1 record thus far in the season.
Lady Jays Power Through Bravettes
By Abbie Cone
On Tuesday, Sept. 12, the Pierce Lady Jays took on the Battle Creek Bravettes, coming out with a win, 3-2.
Starting off strong in the first set, Pierce dominated the Bravettes 25-13. The second set was a thriller, but ended up in favor of the Bravettes, who won 27-25, and Battle Creek also won the third set 25-21. However, in the fourth set, the Lady Jays turned the momentum and won 25-19. In the fifth and final set, Pierce showed their resilience and pulled out the victory 17-15.
“We fought hard and never gave up. We kept our energy up and were able to continue to do what we needed to to win,” senior captain Jaya Wachholtz comments.
For stats on the night, Wachholtz led the team in kills with 29. Following her was Nora Herian with 17, Claudia Riggert took seven, and Abigail Cone hit four.
Maggie Painter, Skylar Scholting, and Wachholtz all made three ace serves, and Herian had one.
On the defensive side, Wachholtz led the team in digs with 18, Painter followed with 14, Herian had 12, Ava Knox took 11, Scholting dug up nine, and Riggert had three.
Riggert led the team with five blocks, Herian and Cone added two, and Natalie Kosch and Scholting made one block.
Scholting put up 53 set assists, and Wachholtz and Herian had 65 and 52 attempts, respectively.
“I’m really proud of the way the kids handled the first big conference test for us,” says head coach Zach Weber. “Battle Creek came in 11-1, so they were obviously a dangerous team. It came down to the wire, and we made the plays that we needed to make. That says a lot about our maturity which I can see developing day by day. I’m excited to move forward into more conference play.”
The Lady Jays will face Lutheran High Northeast in a non-conference game on Thursday, Sept. 21.
The C-Team Lady Jays Travel to Norfolk for Tournament
By Naomi Sullivan
The Pierce Lady Jays played in the Norfolk volleyball tournament and came away with a 2-4 record.
The Lady Jays started out the tournament playing Bennington, and Pierce ended the first set against the Badgers with a loss. The Lady Jays fell to the Bennington Badgers in the second set of the first game.
Pierce later played their second game of the tournament against Fremont and swept the Tigers with a 25-9 score in the first set. The Lady Jays then took the second set ending with a 25-6 score.
Coach Allie Spence states, “Although the tournament did not go in our favor, we did good defensively and our serves were also what helped us during the tournament.”
Taking a break in between games the Lady Jays came back and played the Stanton Mustangs. Battling the Mustangs, the Lady Jays came up short, as the first set ended with a 25-18 score in favor of the Mustangs. Coming into the second set, Pierce again lost to the Mustangs 25-21.
“The team overall started out strong in the tournament but just made silly mistakes that we can fix in practice,” says defensive specialist Payton Montgomery.
Come watch the C team play at their next game on Thursday, Sept. 21 in Pierce against Lutheran High Northeast.
