Win Gives Blues No. 3 Seed In Pioneer Tourney
The Parry McCluer High School volleyball team celebrated senior night with a critical 3-1 Pioneer District victory over Bath County in the regular-season finale in Buena Vista on Thursday.
After being honored prior to the match, the senior duo of Kadence Zollman and Allie Cullen played a major role as the Fighting Blues (1210 overall, 6-4 district) recorded a 26-28, 25-18, 25-20, 25-22 victory that lifted them above the Chargers (18-8, 5-5) in the district standings.
PM earned the No. 3 seed in this week’s Pioneer tournament, where the Blues played host to No. 6 seed Highland County in the quarterfinals on Monday. (See separate story.) The winner of that match was slated to visit No. 2 seed Narrows in the semifinal round last night.
Against Bath, Zollman tallied 15 kills, 19 digs and three blocks, while Cullen posted a team-high 24 digs to go along with four kills. Jorja Catlett notched 28 assists for PM, Emory Slagle chipped in nine kills and a pair of blocks, and Josie Martinez totaled five kills and 19 digs.
Addison Lockridge paced the Chargers with 13 kills and four blocks, and Trinity Forbes added 11 kills. Kenley Smith finished with 26 assists and eight kills, and Georgia Watkins dished out three aces.
The Blues were able to overcome a Bath team that had beaten them twice earlier in the season. The Chargers defeated PM 2-1 in a best-of-three contest in James River’s tournament on Sept. 27, and they won the first district match 3-2 in Hot Springs on Oct. 13.
PM FRESHMAN setter Jorja Catlett (1) gets in position for a dig as senior middle blocker Kadence Zollman (2) watches. Catlett led the Blues with 28 assists, while Zollman had a team-high 15 kills to go along with 19 digs and three blocks. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
“It feels really good to win against them after losing to them previously in the season,” PM head coach Jilane Hall said. “It makes us feel good to kind of be on a high going into the district tournament.”
Defense and serving made the difference for the Blues in round three against Bath. PM amassed 99 team digs – in addition to the totals for Cullen, Zollman and Martinez, libero Presley Camden notched 18 – and 23 service aces. Camden led the way in that department with six aces, while Slagle notched five, Zollman registered four, and Cullen and Martinez recorded three apiece.
“We did a really good job defensively, being able to hustle and chase things down,” Hall said. “We were also serving really well, and I think that benefited us greatly – because if you serve them out of system, they can’t set their best options.”
The Blues still had to play from behind after dropping a seesaw first set. Bath jumped out to an 8-1 lead, only to see PM quickly turn things around to go in front 13-12. Later in the frame, the Blues battled back from a 24-22 deficit to force extras, but the Chargers then fought off two set points and rallied for the 28-26 win.
Both offenses were clicking early. Smith had 11 assists in the opener, and Catlett tallied 11. Zollman posted seven of her kills in the first stanza, while Lockridge had five for Bath.
PM quickly took command of the second set, using two kills and a block from Zollman and a pair of Martinez aces to craft a 10-3 lead. The Chargers wouldn’t come any closer than five points the rest of the way.
In the third frame, the Blues put together a key 9-2 stretch that turned a close game into a 22-14 advantage. PM pushed the margin to 24-15, surviving a late 5-0 Bath rally to go ahead 2-1 in the match.
Trailing 11-9 in the fourth set, the Blues reeled off a 7-1 spurt that put them in front for good. Zollman and Slagle each posted four kills in the stanza as PM clinched the four-set victory.
Senior Night couldn’t have gone much better for Cullen and Zollman, who were key contributors on the 2024 PM squad that clinched the school’s first Pioneer tournament title since 2005. They’ve also been integral to helping Hall acclimate to her first season as a varsity head coach.
“Kadence and Allie are amazing,” the PM coach said. “Their work ethic and their drive, I can’t accredit to myself because I’ve only had them for one season. But they have done amazing things for this team this year – and for all the seasons that they’ve played. I find myself lucky just to coach them for one year.”
NHS 3, PM 1
Narrows beat the visiting Blues 3-1 on Tuesday of last week.
The Green Wave (12-8, 7-3) avenged an earlier loss to PM with a 25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-9 home victory, going on to lock up the No. 2 seed in the Pioneer. The Blues had knocked off Narrows in a four-set affair in Buena Vista back on Sept. 25.
In last Tuesday’s rematch, Zollman totaled eight kills and 11 digs, while Catlett recorded 25 assists. Martinez finished with six kills and 15 digs, and Slagle also had six kills. Cullen paced the defense with 21 digs and added two aces, and Camden posted 20 digs.
For updates on the district tournament, please visit www.thenews-gazette.com.
FIGHTING BLUE Jorja Catlett (1) dives for the ball as teammate Kadence Zollman goes to the floor. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
