The Parry McCluer High School volleyball team split a pair of Pioneer District matches last week, coming up short against Bath County 3-2 last Monday in Hot Springs before returning home for a 3-0 victory over Craig County on Thursday.
With that split, the Fighting Blues now sport an overall record of 11-9 and are 5-3 against Pioneer District foes, and an interesting final week of the season looms, with tournament seeding in the balance.
After last week’s action, PM stood in second place in the Pioneer District race, just behind Narrows, which sits at 6-2 in the district, and PM is slightly ahead of Bath County (4-4 district). Though none of those teams will catch Eastern Montgomery, which boasts a perfect 7-0 league mark, all three have a legitimate shot at earning a home match for the district tournament.
The Blues close the regular season with two matches this week, at Narrows last night, and the final regular-season contest at home against Bath County on Thursday. The Chargers finish with contests against Craig County and the Blues, while Narrows plays host to PM and Eastern Montgomery.
“Those two games will set us up for the tournament,” said PM head coach Jilane Hall. “I think we’ll play really well in those, but we’ll see. It’s a different time of the season. It’s important for us to play well. I’m super excited for the last couple of games.”
PM set up its run at a firstround home game in the tournament with a resounding 25-13, 25-19, 25-12 victory over Craig County (3-13 overall, 1-7 district) on Thursday to celebrate “Pink Out” for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to complete the season sweep of the Rockets. When the teams met on Sept. 23 at Craig County, PM also won 3-0.
“It was a good solid win,” said Hall of the rematch. “It was a feel-good win.”
The outcome was never in doubt. The Rockets did lead early in the first set, 5-4, but that was the last time for the entire evening. At that point, Kadence Zollman served up two straight winners, including an ace, to put PM in front to stay, and the Blues steadily pulled away to win the first set.
In the second set, Presley Camden served up seven straight winners to give the Blues control early. Zollman banged down a pair of kills during the run, while Allie Cullen and Emory Slagle also hammered kills to give PM a 10-2 advantage. Slagle’s kill gave the Blues the victory.
Set three was much the same. Camden reeled off six straight points with her serve, a run that included four aces, and Caroline Watts added four points to give the Blues an 18-8 advantage. Zollman closed out the game and the match with two aces of her own.
As a team, the Blues finished the match with 17 aces while serving 82.2 percent (60-for-73). Camden had nine of those aces, going 20-for-23 serving with 16 points from her libero position. Zollman and Jorja Catlett chipped in with eight service points apiece.
At the net, Zollman was the big gun for the Blues, finishing the game with 11 kills and a pair of blocks. Cullen added five kills, while Slagle knocked down four.
“Kadence is a powerhouse,” the PM coach said of her middle blocker. “She’s really important to our offense.
“Presley is a trooper,” Hall added of her freshman libero. “She’s really consistent on the back row.”
BC 3, PM 2
Zollman had a big night against Bath County as well, banging down 14 kills in the five-set marathon. But mistakes at inopportune moments cost the Blues, as Bath prevailed 25-15, 17-25, 25-14, 21-25, 16-14.
In addition to her 14 kills, Zollman came up with 23 digs. Cullen added 21 digs and seven kills to the PM effort.
The Blues will get another shot at Bath (17-7) on Thursday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. Before varsity match, the Blues will honor their two seniors, Cullen and Zollman.
For the Blues’ Pioneer District tournament schedule and updates, visit www.thenewsgazette. com.
FIGHTING BLUE senior middle blocker Kadence Zollman leaps to spike the ball over the net while teammate Allie Cullen stays close. Zollman led PM with 11 kills and had two blocks, and she closed out the match with two aces. (Ronnie Coffey photo)
PM FRESHMAN setter Jorja Catlett keeps the ball in play. Catlett had eight service points for the Blues. (Ronnie Coffey photo)
