Volleyball welcomed their second home game of the season in the competition gymnasium on the evening of Wednesday, September 20. Both teams were challenged against Eldon High School, while playing with a format of best two out of three. Gaining a win from junior varsity, and a close loss from varsity, both matches kept players on their feet the entire time.

Junior varsity played two sets, winning both, giving them a win for the game. The front line played well together on getting the ball over the net, as well as getting attacks against Eldon’s serves.

Carynton Marshall, junior varsity middle hitter, provided the team with some strong serves, gliding smoothly over the net before landing into the opposing court. Marshall continued to play aggressively, with many serves, and eventually some strong saves and passes during the second set.

The junior varsity’s match stayed vocal and the team was able to work together to set up more kills and successful passes. Addison Upton, junior varsity member, passed the ball around, setting the team up for many passes over the net, as well as a few good kills.

Amelia Talken, junior varsity member, described how the overall game went with the help of the team. Talken stated, “Our net play was really good, and our talking was pretty good, and we didn’t get in our heads like we usually do.”

After two wins in the first two sets of the match, ending the best two out of three, junior varsity handed the court onto varsity.

Varsity came out with confidence, making many strong kills against Eldon during the first set. Lauren Hull was first to serve, putting full intensity into the first set. Intensity stayed evident throughout the team through the first set, though was eventually lost by the second set, ultimately leading to the loss of the best two of three match for varsity.

Erica Margheim, varsity member, described how the emotion of the first game played out throughout the night. Margheim says,”I think the team played really strong during the first set and we showed our potential, but lost our energy in the second set which led to us not playing as well. In the third set, we got some of it back, but not enough to pull through and win.”

The team powered through the second set with some great passes; however, they lost the focus necessary, costing the game. Team effort was definitely there as the girls continued being vocal towards each other during the last set, really pushing through the late night game.

The following Saturday, September 23, the volleyball team hosted a jamboree, winning first in the consolation bracket.

Raven Buckley, varsity defense specialist, expanded on the play of the Saturday jamboree. Buckley said, “Saturday went really well! We made it to the consolation bracket and ended up getting first place! It wasn’t the gold bracket, but we played good volleyball and showed how badly we wanted to win through how we played.

The girls of both the varsity and junior varsity teams are optimistic for the upcoming season, as the Wednesday night game was only the second of many.