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Monday, Oct. 28 -- The third-seeded Parry McCluer High School volleyball team defeated sixth-seeded Highland County 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Pioneer District tournament in Buena Vista.
The Fighting Blues (13-11) advance to face No. 2 seed Bath County on the road in the semifinal round at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Kadence Zollman piled up 16 kills -- including 10 in the second set alone -- to propel PM to a 25-20, 25-6, 25-6 quarterfinal victory. Keely Mahaffey notched nine service aces, eight assists, eight digs and five kills for the Blues, while Natalie Mohler totaled 13 assists and Allie Cullen amassed nine aces.
Colleen Adams led Highland with four aces and four kills.
The Blues started the opening set on the front foot, getting three early aces from Mahaffey to craft a 13-5 advantage and later leading 17-6 on an ace from Cullen. Highland battled back, with Adams serving up three straight aces and then notching a pair of kills as the Rams pulled to within one at 21-20. But consecutive Highland errors -- one on serve and the other on an attack -- squelched the rally, and PM would finish off the opener with a Zollman kill and another Mahaffey ace.
PM then cruised to the match win with dominant performances in the second and third sets. Zollman was unstoppable in the middle frame, punishing the Rams' defense with 10 kills, and a 10-0 service run by Mahaffey put the Blues in control.
PM led 9-6 in the third, but a kill from Cullen created a sideout, and the junior outside then served out the match with 15 straight points -- including seven aces.
Josie Martinez and Logan Vest tallied eight digs apiece for PM, and Peira Conner provided four aces.
The Blues and Chargers split their regular-season series, with each team winning on the road. In the regular-season finale on Thursday, PM defeated Bath 3-0.
