Nothing coming easy for Perkins County volleyball team
By Diane Stamm
Grant Tribune-Sentinel
Last week was an extremely busy week for the Perkins County volleyball team with six matches in five days. Out of the 18 sets played, six were two-point sets.
The Plainsmen hosted Arthur County last Tuesday, winning 25-17, 23-25, 28-26, 25-23.
PCS Head Coach Monica Cole credited her team with executing well the first set then kind of falling onto the roller coaster the rest of the sets.
In set two, PCS led 19-15 but couldn’t close out the match. The Plainsmen held a one-point lead through much of the third set. After falling behind 22-33, PCS traded set points with the Wolves until finally taking the win. Set four stayed close. Two early aces by Kailee Potts gave PCS breathing room.After a tie at 15 the set stayed close until match point.
Cole said she talked to her team about getting to the finish line of matches.
“Sometimes we get so close and just can’t close out the set, but the girls fought and battled to the finish line. It speaks volumes for the young team that we have and how they conduct themselves in a pressure situation. We talk about being poised a lot and I thought that they did a good job of that,” Cole said.
Cole worked new players in to the match, but Potts and Libby Cole continued to be statistical leaders for the Plainsmen, finishing with 17 and 11 kills respectively.
Thursday PCS hosted a triangular with South Platte (6-8) and Paxton (12-1).
Perkins County won a set in both matches but lost to South Platte 25-18, 27-29, 13-25 and Paxton 26-24, 14-25, 24-26.
“We have to once again step out on that court knowing that we are going to have to battle the entire time,” Cole said before the matches.
The Plainsmen were swept by South Platte Aug. 30.
PCS went right to work Thursday night, jumping out to a 13-8 lead which expanded to 19-9. The Plainsmen carried the momentum over to the second set. Helped by aces from Potts, Cole and Mallory McClenahan, PCS took a 14-9 lead. Perkins County had two match points before losing the set 27-29.
Paxton came into the night ranked eighth in Class D1 by the Omaha World Herald.
The Plainsmen hit the ground running in the match. PCS had set point 24-19, but need extra points to finish off the Tigers in set one. Perkins County fell behind 3-11 and couldn’t recover in the second set. The deciding set went down to the wire. PCS trailed 7-11 before coming back to take a 20-19 lead. The Plainsmen held off one match point but lost 24-26.
The week wrapped up at the Bridgeport Tournament Saturday.
PCS started off the day with a 10-25, 15-25 loss to Bridgeport (7-7).
The Plainsmen only held serve four times in the match.
“We played like we were sleepy. It’s an early morning to an already long week, so it takes a while to get going,” Cole said.
Cole said told the girls that what we needed from them for the rest of the day was to show growth somewhere, with a win, mentally, physically, or as a leader and teammate.
The Plainsmen lost to 9-0 Bayard 16-25, 25-22, 15-25 in the consolation semifinals. Tigers could be an opponent PCS sees in the C2-12 subdistrict.
Perkins County trailed 10-11 before Bayard blew the first set open with a six-point run. The Plainsmen trailed 15-21 in the second set, but closed it out with a 10-1 run. PCS fell behind 5-10 in the final set and couldn’t recover.
Cole said unforced errors caught up with her team.
:We know that they are beatable and we will look forward to possibly facing them in our sub-district at the end of the season,” Cole said.
The day ended with a 25-12, 21-25, 25-19 win over Leyton (6-6).
“All we were aiming for was to finish the race with lots of endurance and confidence at the end of our long week. Game 6 did not disappoint,” Cole said.
Cole credited great serving for an easy win in the first set.
Leyton used a five-point run in the middle of the set to set up the win.
The final set was close until a five-point PCS run, including an ace by Hannah Bishop. Bishop was at the line once more to serve the final three points of the match for the Plainsmen.
“We finished the race to the finish line and to the end of a very long week mentally and physically. Endurance, growth and stronger minds in the end,” Cole said.
Up next
PCS is now 5-8 on the season.
Cole said, overall, the team’s record for the week wasn’t what they wanted it to be, but when you look at the scores, you know that these girls are playing with grit, heart, tenacity and fight the entire way.
“I am proud of them, I am proud to see their growth and I am pleased to be able to say that even though we are young, we can still battle with the best of them. That says a lot about these girls and their work ethic,” Cole added.
Perkins County still has plenty of challenges in the near future.
The Plainsmen will travel to Holyoke, Colorado (6-5) Thursday.
Next Tuesday PCS will travel to Gothenburg for a triangular with the Swedes (12-2) and Chase County (5-6).
Also on the horizon is a Sept. 29 game against 10-0 Sedgwick County, Colorado.