Aggressive offense leads Pacelli over Reedsville in straight sets
By Jacob Heid
STEVENS POINT — The Pacelli girls’ volleyball team picked up their first win of the season in the home opener on Aug 30. The Cardinals beat the visiting Reedsville Panthers in straight sets, 25-23, 25-12, 25-22.
With it being the home opener for the volleyball team, the crowd, especially the students, was full of energy. Pacelli fed off of the energy in a highly competitive first set. The Cardinals left a couple of points on the floor early. Senior Laine Illka let a couple of hard-hitting spikes sail out of bounds, giving Reedsville a 10-9 lead to that point. The set stayed close the rest of the way. Later, the Panthers held a two-point lead, 20-18, before Pacelli stormed back after a stretch of serves by (Laine) Ilkka, leading to a 25-23 set win. Junior Ava Olds and sophomore Kaylin Yenter forced the Panthers’ shot into the net for the game-winning point.
Head coach Roy Danforth talked about his perspective of the first set.
“I think we were just nervous at home,” he said. “We got settled in and we did not quit on the first set. That was really huge. And it gave us momentum in the second set.”
The Cardinals turned up the heat in the second set. If you have read the volleyball previews, Danforth explained that his team would be aggressive at the net this year. That is what Pacelli showed in the second set and all night. The Cardinals stepped on the accelerator and never looked back, gaining a ten-point advantage, 15-5. Pacelli took the second set 25-12.
“That is the way we can play,” Danforth said about the second set after the game.
The third set was much like the first. Both teams traded points, with Reedsville leading 15-14 at one point. Pacelli’s offense came up big late in the third with a couple of big kills. The Cardinals won the game on an ace that landed in the middle of Reedsville’s defense.
Pacelli’s next match will be at home on Sept 6 against Port Edwards. That will start the conference season for the Cardinals. If you have other local sports news or information, contact me at [email protected]. You can also follow me on Twitter at JacobHeid_15 for up-to-date news on sporting events.
