The Parry McCluer High School volleyball team split a pair of 3-0 Pioneer District matches in the final week of the regular season, falling at home against Bath County on Tuesday of last week before earning a road win over Highland County on Thursday.
In the Pioneer District tournament, the fifth-seeded Fighting Blues (4-16 overall, 3-7 district) were slated to play at fourth-seeded Craig County on Monday night. (See a separate story for that result, and visit www.thenews-gazette.com for postseason updates.)
With the 25-12, 25-19, 25-22 win over Highland (7-13, 0-10), the Blues completed a sweep of the regular-season series with the Rams, who had lost 3-0 at PM on Oct. 1.
“I thought we played well, came out strong,” said PM head coach Elle Kindred. “We got a little too comfortable in the second and third sets, but I’m proud of them for finishing the job. I felt like it was a team win, and we communicated and played together better than we have been. It gives us good energy going into districts.”
Josie Martinez led the Blues with eight kills and had two blocks, while Jorja Catlett had a team-high 15 assists and three blocks and added five kills. Presley Camden paced PM with 13 digs, while Sophie Porterfield contributed four kills, and Ciara Hamilton had two blocks and two kills.
BC 3, PM 0
The Blues suffered a 3-0 home loss to Bath County (1111, 6-4), which had beaten PM 3-0 on Sept. 24 in Hot Springs.
On their way to a 25-17, 2521, 25-12 win in the rematch, the Chargers were tested by the Blues in the first set, but they finished strong, attacking the net and ending the set on a 7-0 run.
In the second set, the Blues cut a seven-point deficit to 2018, but the Chargers put away several kills to end the set. Bath carried the momentum into the third set and capitalized on PM errors, finishing the match on an 11-2 run.
Before the match, the Blues honored their lone senior, right-side hitter Jaelyn Manning, along with the Chargers’ five seniors.
Several of Manning’s teammates praised her with speeches, and Kindred, in her first year of coaching the Blues, complimented her after the match.
“It’s really been a treat to be able to work with Jaelyn,” said Kindred. “She makes everybody laugh. She’s always here for the fun and the crazy, and, truthfully, she’s one that I’ve counted on to get a job done. She’s done a really great job for us, and it’ll be hard to see her go, but I know she’s destined for greatness.”
Martinez led the Blues with five kills and collected five digs, while Porterfield had four kills, and Manning and Catlett each notched three kills. Catlett paced PM with 11 assists and had 14 digs and two blocks, while Camden led the Blues with 22 digs. Sophia Bouchelle contributed seven digs, while Jordyn Hostetter had six digs.
Georgia Watkins led the Chargers with 25 kills, while Reaghan Pritt had 19 kills and three aces. Cassidee Nicely dished out a team-high 27 assists and added 13 digs, while Bre Mabe paced Bath with 17 digs.
The match got a late start due to the Chargers arriving late, but Kindred said her team “played pretty decent. It’s just the same things that we’ve been talking about: the errors, the urgency and the communication. You’re not gonna win a game if you don’t communicate with each other and if you don’t have an urgency to win. Volleyball is a game of mistakes. Mistakes are gonna happen. The free balls out of bounds, the serves, all the things that we can control, we’re not controlling.”
ABOVE, PM sophomore rightsider hitter Kimber Hickman reaches to tap the ball over the net during the Blues’ 3-0 loss to Bath County. AT RIGHT, Fighting Blue sophomore Sophia Bouchelle sets for a teammate while sophomore Jorja Catlett (1) watches. Bouchelle collected seven digs. BELOW, Catlett sets the ball while freshman teammate Ciara Hamilton (far right) watches. Catlett led PM with 11 assists and had 14 digs, two blocks and three kills. (Ronnie Coffey photos)
