Ark Valley News - VCMS volleyball splits again

VCMS volleyball splits again
By The News staff
Last Updated: September 13, 2018

As they did the previous week, Valley Center Middle School's volleyball teams split eight matches Sept. 6. The eighth-graders were 1-3 at Eisenhower, and the seventh-graders went 3-1 at home.

For the season, 8A is 7-1, 8B is 2-2, 7A is 5-3 and 7B is 3-1.

The Hornets return to the courts Sept. 13 against Andover and Goddard. The eighth-graders will be at home, while the seventh-graders travel to Andover.

Eighth grade — The A team lost for the first time this season, 25-9, 23-25, 15-17 to Derby.

"We played really well the first set and didn't allow room for many errors," coach Kyrie Edwards said. "Then we just fell apart and didn't do the little things that are required to win. I was pretty disappointed with their lack of effort."

Valley bounced back to defeat Eisenhower 25-21, 25-18, 15-5.

"We had our moments of amazing volleyball," Edwards said. "I still would like to see them put it all together and not go into that third set. I am happy with how they played, but we still have plenty of work to do. Dani Leinen continued to shine with her serves. She put six over in the third set to give us a 6-1 lead.

The B team lost in three to Derby 19-25, 25-19, 12-15.

"This was not a pleasant game to watch," said coach JoAnn Owens. "Too many missed serves. We were definitely stuck in the mud with our feet and could never seem to get a rhythm."

Valley also lost to Eisenhower 25-12, 25-19.

"We played much more consistently and aggressively this game," Owens said. "Still another loss that results from a total of 24 serve receive errors. Kennedy Johnson and Maliah Maus did have some good serving runs."

Seventh grade — The A team swept at home, beginning with a 25-19, 25-23 win over Derby.

"Despite the win, we didn't play with a lot of energy," coach Melissa Fehrenbach said. "We were down in the second game, and Avery Looney went on a nice run serving to bring us back in the game."

Valley bounced back from a first-set loss to defeat Eisenhower 15-25, 25-18, 15-6.

"We started the first game passing well, but we made several mistakes at the net," Fehrenbach said. "We also missed several serves. The girls picked up their energy in the second game and played very well. Malia Smith started us out serving in the third game and got us to a 7-0 lead that Eisenhower couldn't come back from."

The B team split, beating Derby 25-6, 25-17 and losing to Eisenhower 25-15, 17-25, 12-15.

"(The) girls showed a lot of improvement tonight from last week. We were much more consistent and confident all the way around," coach Courtney Fields said. "Macee Lehr really stepped up tonight and was a leader. Devyn Belcher served very well tonight and was a big factor in our win."