PHS Volleyball
Launch the media gallery 1 playerVolleyball Plays at Scotus Tourney
By Charlotte Enk
The varsity volleyball team from Pierce High School played three games on Saturday, September 6, at the Scotus Central Catholic tournament, and ended the day 1-2.
“Our offense was clicking, and we did a really good job of mixing the ball around to our hitters,” Abigail Cone, outside hitter, said.
Pierce’s first game was played against Cedar Catholic. The first set was 25-19, the second set was 25-21.
Nora Herian and Cone teamed up for a combined 15 kills in this game, hitting eight and seven, respectively to lead the team on offense.
Leading the team on defense, Adrienne Riggert had six digs, followed by Herian with five and Emily Endorf and Josie Painter with four each
The second game was against David City and Pierce lost the game 25-22 and 25-14.
Again, Cone and Herian led the way with six kills each.
On defense, Cone, Herian, and Riggert all picked up five digs.
“It was definitely a long week for us mentally and physically. We knew this tournament would be a challenge for us going into it, and despite not getting the outcome we wanted, we battled through the day and gave it our all. We also learned a lot about what we need to do to eventually be successful in the upcoming months,” Cone said.
On the third game, Pierce battled back, but lost 27-25 and 25-19 against the Lakeview Vikings.
Cone came up with eight kills, followed by Herian with seven to lead the way for Pierce.
Cone and Painter each came up with 12 and 10 digs, respectively to lead the Jays on defense.
Pierce did manage to cut back their service errors to two for this game, compared to three service errors against David City and four service errors against Cedar Catholic.
“There were some fun moments where we did things we do well in practice that we hadn’t shown yet in a game,” Cone said.
Pierce will host Battle Creek in a Mid-State conference matchup at home on Tuesday, September 16.
Varsity Jays Battled Against the Knights
By Charlie Miller
Pierce High varsity Jays went up against the Norfolk Catholic Lady Knights on Thursday, September 4, at Norfolk Catholic, the Jays lost to the Knights 3-2.
In the first set, the Jays won 25-21.
The next set, the Jays fell short with a score of 25-16.
Onto the third set, Pierce fought back and won the set 25-21.
The Jays and Knights battled back and forth in the fourth set, but the Bluejays lost 25-23.
In the fifth and final set, Pierce fought back in the beginning, but the Knights won that set as well with a score of 15-13.
Leading the team with kills was senior Abigail Cone with 22, followed closely by Nora Herian at 19.
“The game showed that we can compete with them. If we had controlled our side a little bit better, I think the game would have had a different outcome,” Nora Herian, junior outside hitter, said.
The varsity Jays will next play on Thursday, September 11, in Wakefield.
Bluejays Knock Down Tigers
By Abbie Cone
In their second regular-season match of the year, the Bluejays took on the North Bend Tigers and swept them 3-0.
In the first set, the Bluejays dominated 25-15 and set the tone for the match. In the second set; however, the Tigers had the set in their hands, ahead of the Bluejays 24-19. Despite the tall task at hand, the Bluejays showed their resilience and fought back and won 26-24, stunning the Tigers. To finish off the match, Pierce commanded the third set and won 25-14.
“We did a lot of things really well. For the most part, we controlled the tempo of the match, and when we were in system, we looked very good. We need to find a way to balance out our offense and control our careless errors better moving forward,” Zach Weber, head coach of the Bluejays, remarks about the night.
Junior Nora Herian led the way for the Bluejays with 24 kills. Herian also reached the 1000 career kill milestone in this match in the first set, a mark only few Bluejays have accomplished.
Senior Abigail Cone totalled 16 kills, and freshman Lydia Cone added four kills.
Herian also led the Bluejays in digs racking up 14. Josie Painter and A. Cone added 10, and Adrienne Riggert made eight.
L. Cone totalled three blocks, and A. Cone tallied two.
“We came together as a team and remembered to take the game one point at a time. We had to work hard for every point, and ultimately knew we had to make our serve better to win, and we did. It was important for us to see North Bend give us a run for our money in that second set, because we’ll need that mental fortitude against upcoming teams,” Herian comments.
Pierce is at the Wakefield tournament this week, but come out and support the Bluejays at their next home game against Battle Creek on Tuesday, September 16.
Pierce Slays the Mustangs
By Charlie Miller
In the season opening game, the Pierce High volleyball team competed against the Stanton Mustangs, and the Bluejays defeated the Mustangs, 3-0 on Thursday, August 28.
“We did a lot of things really well. Our serve and receive numbers were great, which allowed a very balanced offensive attack,” head coach Zach Weber stated. “I'm proud of how far this group has come during the preseason.”
The three sets were tough wins for the Jays, as Pierce won the first set, 25-12, the second one was close, 25-19, and the third set ended 25-12.
Nora Herian led the team in kills, achieving a whopping 15 throughout all three sets. Another notable player with a high number of kills is Abigail Cone, with 11 kills.
Herian also obtained 10 digs as well, followed by a few familiar names: Cone with eight, Emily Endorf with five, Adrienne Riggert, Haley Scholting, and Josie Painter with three.
Catch the Bluejays in action at home on Tuesday, September 16.
