Jr. High Volleyball

POMEROY––In the first junior high volleyball game of the 2021 covid season, the A Squad won in three sets, 25-22, 24-26, 15-13, over Asotin on May 18.

The next matches are May 24 at SJEL and May 27 with Colfax.

"We had a lot of points go back-and-forth in Game 1 but ultimately built a lead and kept it through the end," said Coach Adam Van Vogt.

"We got down in games 2 and 3 but the girls fought back behind strong serving from Allyson Shaffer and Elisabeth Carroll, and scrappy defense," he said. "We ended up losing a close game 2 and won a close and exciting game 3 that had a lot of rallies.

"I thought we did a lot of good things in our first game," Van Vogt said. "With less practices than normal to prepare for this season, we still have a lot to teach the girls. However, the main point of volleyball is to not let the ball hit the floor and I was very happy with how well we did that in our first game. We were scrappy and had a lot of exciting rallies.

"This group of girls is the youngest junior high volleyball A team that I have ever coached but they are very coachable and we are having a lot of fun," he said. "I anticipate that we will learn from this game and I have been seeing them do a lot of growing in our skills and knowledge in our first two weeks of the season.

"It was really cool to see this young group keep their composure and win two close games to start the season. Our goal for the next week is to improve our serve percentage, keep learning where to be defensively, and keep improving our skills."

Leading in stats were Caroline McKeirnan with eight digs and three assists. Allyson Schaffer made six digs and served 19 for 20 with 9 aces. Elisabeth Carroll was tough with six digs, five kills, 11 of 12 serving with 2 aces. Atalya Mitchell served four aces and two kills.

Other players included Olivia Cooper, Sadie Klaveano, Isabella Field, Michealle DeBord, Grace Hart and Hailey Reisinger.