8th GRADE JUNIOR LADY PUPS SPLIT PAIR OF MATCHES

‘A’ TEAM WINS, ‘B’ TEAM LOSES

By Staff

BUHLER – At a triangular Monday hosted by Buhler Prairie Hills Middle School, the McPherson Middle School eighth-grade volleyball teams split matches with Augusta and Prairie Hills.

In a quick turnaround, the Junior Lady Pup eighth-grade teams go on the road Tuesday at Emporia.

‘A’ team wins two……

The Junior Lady Pups eighth grade ‘A’ team scored a pair of straight set wins by beating August 25-16, 25-8 and then finishing out the day with a straight set victory over Prairie Hills, winning 25-21, 25-23. The ‘A’ team is now 5-2 for the season.

Against Augusta, the coaching staff admitted the team came out a bit slow but were serving well and finally found their comfortable rhythm. Jersey Alexander and Krysten Fenstermaker were credited by the coaching staff for some great passing which helped the team play well together in the second set.

Allison Randa and Kennedy Bonham were credited with some outstanding serving in the Prairie Hills match while Bonham, Karlie Cooper, Ellie Herrera, and Amarie Lowery all recorded multiple kills at the net.

“We were able to come out strong against Prairie Hills,” noted head coach Christine Pianalto. “We played one of our best matches of the season and the girls played with intensity and excitement. Their efforts showed at the end of the match when the game was on the line.”

‘B’ Team…….

IN the ‘B’ team matches, the Junior Lady Pups lost in straight sets 19-25 and 23-25 to Augusta before going three sets with Prairie Hills (8-25, 25-17, 9-15) before losing.

Like with the ‘A ‘team, the ‘B’ team began the first match slow despite having a decent game of passing though they could not seem to capitalize on that.

Against Prairie Hills, the ‘B’ team lost 8-25 before bouncing back and scoring a 25-17 win in the second set only to lose set three 9-15.

Despite the loss to Prairie Hills, the coaches noted that the girls moved their feet and communicated much better than they did against Augusta.

According to ‘B’ team coach Tami Malm, “Our anticipation got us into trouble as we handed Augusta some points, but the girls played harder in the second set before coming up short. Though we lost to Prairie Hills, they raised their level of intensity which was good to see. Our serving was more consistent tonight than it has been, and we had some great rallies. Mentally, we still need to maintain our focus and keep our heads up when we make a mistake.”

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at macks.people.places@gmail.com)