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Monday, November 18, 2024 at 5:44 AM

PM Volleyball Falls To Amherst, Bath

Blues Take Chargers To 5 Sets In Pioneer Clash

The Parry McCluer High School volleyball team dropped a pair of home matches last week, falling by a 3-1 count to Amherst County before losing in five sets against Pioneer District rival Bath County.

The Fighting Blues would wrap up the week at 1-7 overall and 1-2 in district play.

Last Monday, the Lancers collected a 17-25, 25-19, 30-28, 25-18 road victory. Hannah Mull recorded nine kills and six blocks for Amherst, while Tyah Charlton had nine kills and four service aces.

Keely Mahaffey posted a team-high seven kills for the Blues. Kadence Zollman notched six kills and four blocks for PM, while Sydney Mahaffey tallied six kills and seven digs, and Natalie Mohler totaled 19 assists.

Even though the Blues couldn’t grab a victory after winning the first set, PM head coach Jessie Moala thought her team battled well against a bigger school. The Blues were also forced into a system change going into the game, switching to a 5-1 offense after senior right side Savannah Lewis was ruled out due to injury.

“Amherst has really strong hitters and strong servers, so they were adjusting well to that,” Moala said. “I thought Keely [Mahaffey] did a great job stepping in as a right-side hitter… Nat [Natalie Mohler] adapted well to the 5-1.”

PM pulled away late in the opening set, closing out on a 7-2 run that featured two kills from Tatyana Turner and a pair of aces from junior libero Logan Vest.

Amherst leveled the match in similar fashion in set two, turning a 14-14 deadlock into a comfortable win. Mull led the way with four kills in the frame.

The third stanza went deep into extras before Charlton finished things off with an ace for the Lancers. The Amherst senior also registered five kills in the set, while PM got three kills from each of the Mahaffey sisters.

Ultimately, though, service errors did in the Blues during the set. PM had nine miscues on serve in the third frame alone, totaling 19 for the match.

“What killed us tonight was just serving errors, honestly,” Moala said. “We definitely found some things to work on in tomorrow’s practice: coverage and serving.”

Amherst clinched the match with a routine fourth-set win. Leading 14-12, the Lancers went on a 9-1 run and – despite a late 5-0 rally from the Blues – maintained control down the stretch.

Turner finished with four kills and 11 digs for PM, and Allie Cullen notched seven digs. Despite all the service errors, the Blues still managed 13 aces, led by three apiece from Mohler, Turner and Sydney Mahaffey.

Kynslee Wilson directed the Amherst offense with 26 assists. Alexis Beam had seven kills and two blocks, and Autumn Meadows added five kills and three aces.

Playing a longer match – prior to last week, all six of PM’s regular- season contests had ended in three sets – might benefit the Blues as they get deeper into district play.

“This is the first time we’ve gone four sets this season,” Moala said. “That was a nice transition for our girls.”

Bath County 3, PM 2

Bath County overcame a 2-0 deficit to record a 3-2 Pioneer win over PM in Buena Vista on Thursday evening.

The Chargers (6-3, 4-0 Pioneer) stayed perfect in district play with a 25-27, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16, 15-9 victory against the Blues.

Zollman paced PM with 12 kills, six blocks and 17 digs, and Mohler totaled 27 assists and 21 digs. Sydney Mahaffey finished with eight kills and 12 digs, while Turner contributed four kills, five aces and 16 digs.

The Blues kick off a three-match Pioneer homestand against Craig County on Thursday, and they’ll play host to Narrows on Tuesday. The junior varsity contest is slated to begin at 5:30 on both nights.



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