Craig Nets Win Over PM

Blues Fall To 2-6 In District Matches

Craig County avenged an earlier Pioneer District loss with a 3-1 victory over the Parry Mc-Cluer High School volleyball team in Buena Vista on Thursday.

Ally Calfee tallied 11 kills and three blocks to pace the Rockets (4-14, 3-6 district) in a 25-14, 25-19, 17-25, 25-21 victory. Annalese Zimmerman chipped in seven kills for Craig, while Natalie Fisher totaled five kills, 14 assists and six service aces.

Ciara Hamilton and Josie Martinez had nine kills apiece for the Fighting Blues (3-15, 2-6). Jorja Catlett recorded 27 assists and three kills for PM, while Martinez added five aces. The Blues also got double-digit digs from four players: Presley Camden led the way with 17, followed by 16 from Catlett, 14 from Jordyn Hostetter and 10 from Martinez.

But the Blues, who had beaten the Rockets 3-1 in New Castle back on Sept. 22, never found their footing in the rematch against a determined Craig team.

“I think we came in thinking it was just going to be a walk,” PM head coach Elle Kindred said. “We can’t come into games like that. … I think it was a learning curve for us.”

The Blues led 7-5 early in the first set, but a 6-0 Craig spurt put the visitors in front for good. Led by several transition swings from Fisher, their setter, the Rockets would pull away with a later 8-2 stretch.

That momentum carried over into the second frame, which started off with a 9-1 run from Craig. Trailing 22-11 late in the set, the Blues reeled off seven straight points – including four aces from Martinez – but they simply had too much ground to make up.

PM played its best volleyball of the night in the third set, scoring the first six points and never trailing in the stanza. After the Rockets pulled to within 21-17, the Blues responded by notching the final four points.

Hamilton posted the last two kills of the frame. The freshman hitter continues to come into her own on the court, and she delivered several angled shots that the Rockets’ defense couldn’t handle.

“She’s really figuring it out, and she’s smart with the ball,” Kindred said of Hamilton. “I think tonight alone, she put three cross-courts [down]. … A lot of people can’t see the floor and react, and so I think that’s a positive for her. She’s a really hard worker, and her future is very bright.”

Unfortunately for the Blues, they couldn’t convert their third-set win into a match rally. Craig broke open a tight fourth set with a 9-3 stretch that turned a 12-12 deadlock into a 21-15 lead. PM battled back to within 23-21 on an ace from Hostetter, but a kill from Addisyn Higgins and an attacking error from the Blues ended the contest.

Sophie Porterfield had five kills and two aces for PM, while Catlett and Hostetter also contributed two aces apiece. Higgins tallied five kills for the Rockets.

Even though their overall record may not indicate it, the Blues have shown plenty of flashes of their volleyball acumen throughout the season. PM is hoping to put the pieces together in time for the rapidly approaching Pioneer tournament.

“I keep telling the girls that volleyball is just a big game of ‘don’t let the balloon touch the floor.’ Right now, we’re letting the balloon touch the floor,” Kindred said. “We’ve talked a lot about effort and intensity, urgency – things like that.”

The Blues were slated to take on Bath County at home on Tuesday. PM will wrap up the regular season at Highland County on Thursday, starting with the junior varsity match at 5:30 p.m.