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The Parry McCluer High School volleyball team seems to be hitting its stride at the optimal time.
The Fighting Blues grabbed a pair of Pioneer District victories at home last week, dispatching Narrows 3-1 and then sweeping Eastern Montgomery on senior night. PM enters the penultimate week of the regular season at 4-2 in district play and 4-7 overall.
On Thursday, Kadence Zollman posted 15 kills to lead the Blues past the Mustangs by a 25-19, 25-12, 25-22 count. Peira Conner added seven kills for PM, while Tatyana Turner totaled six kills, 13 digs and five aces and Natalie Mohler finished with 18 assists.
Macie Akers had five kills and five assists for EastMont (8-9, 3-3 Pioneer), and Hailey Akers also notched five kills.
Prior to the match, the Blues honored their senior class: Turner, Savannah Lewis, Sydney Mahaffey, Alexys Tobias and team manager Corey Jeter. PM then convincingly avenged an earlier loss to the Mustangs, who had won 3-0 in Elliston back on Sept. 14.
The Blues were dominant for long stretches across the first two sets. When EastMont provided a sterner challenge in the third, PM played some scrappy volleyball to emerge with the sweep.
“I would say that’s the best we’ve played [this season] – definitely the best that some individual players have played,” Blues head coach Jessie Moala said. “They never gave up, and they kept fighting the whole entire time. … They’re peaking at the right time.”
PM built up an 18-10 lead in the opener, but EastMont rallied to pull within two at 19-17. From there, the Blues closed things out with a 6-2 stretch, getting a kill and an ace from Sydney Mahaffey and finishing the set on a block from Conner and Keely Mahaffey.
PM’s offense then took off in a dynamite second set. Mohler had 10 of her assists in the frame, while the Blues got six kills from Zollman, three from Turner and two apiece from Conner and Sydney Mahaffey.
Zollman had six more kills to help PM close things out in three. The Blues also showed some grit late in the third set, falling behind 19-18 before rallying for the win. Conner had two key kills down the stretch as PM secured its third straight victory.
Sydney Mahaffey registered five kills and 11 digs, and Tobias also collected 11 digs. Brookelyn Kingery had three kills, seven assists and three aces for the Mustangs.
The match was a happy send-off for the four seniors on the PM roster.
“They’re a really special group of girls, these four,” Moala said. “They’re all key leaders in their own way, and they bring so many different things to the table. … I thought they all played really well tonight.”
PM overcame a tough second set to record a 3-1 victory over Narrows in Buena Vista last Tuesday.
Sydney Mahaffey posted a double-double, notching 10 kills and 14 digs to go along with three aces, as the Blues recorded a 25-20, 13-25, 25-14, 25-17 victory. Zollman racked up eight kills, 11 digs, two blocks and four aces, while Turner finished with five kills, 12 digs and five aces.
Emma Helvey paced the Green Wave (2-11, 2-4) with eight kills, and Addyson Johnson tallied six blocks.
PM used a big run to claim the opener. Trailing 1814, the Blues reeled off a 10-1 spurt to go ahead 24-19, winning the set two points later.
But Narrows started the second frame on a 6-0 run, cruising to the 25-13 victory. Karsyn Reed had seven of her game-high 16 assists in the set, while Reagan Freeman recorded four kills and Helvey put down three.
In previous matches, the Blues might have let a poor set spill over into the rest of the match. But that didn’t happen on Tuesday: PM quickly turned things around, grabbing both the third and fourth sets with relative ease.
“We’ve really been working in practice on bounceback, and focusing outward instead of inward,” Moala said. “I think the girls really did a great job of that tonight. … They attacked, and we do best when we don’t play scared.”
The tables turned very quickly, as the Blues scored nine of the first 10 points in the third stanza. PM managed the large lead well, going in front 21-9 and overcoming a brief late rally from Narrows. The Green Wave grabbed an early 5-1 advantage in the fourth, but the Blues answered with a 9-1 stretch that put them in front for good at 10-6.
Zollman was integral to PM’s rally. The sophomore middle provided three kills apiece in the third and fourth frames; she also served up three aces in the third and had a big stuff block that made it 23-15 in the fourth.
“Kadence, her confidence has just grown a ton this year,” Moala said of the first-year varsity player. “A lot is clicking with her this year.”
Mohler collected 15 assists for the Blues, and Logan Vest registered 12 digs and two aces. Reed served up four aces for Narrows, while Freeman finished with seven kills and Brooklyn McCroskey added six kills.
PM will play its final five regular-season matches on the road. The Blues were slated to visit Amherst County on Monday, and they’ll travel to Highland County on Thursday for a 5 p.m. varsity doubleheader.
