Arrows sweep Raiders 3-0




 

 

Even before classes have started the Arrows have fully embraced their roles as student/athletes, and it appears their diligence in studying the game of volleyball has already paid dividends for the Pipestone Area side.
With a focus on playing a smart, attacking brand of volleyball, the Arrows (2-0) claimed their second straight sweep of the season Thursday night in Pipestone, blanking the visiting Fulda Raiders, 25-12, 25-19, 25-11, in a non-conference match.
“They’re continuously wanting to be students of the game,” Pipestone Area head coach Jamie Juhl said after the match. “We’ve been watching a lot of tape, not only of ourselves but also of top players in the world. They want to look at those top players in the nation and the world to help them continue to develop their game.”
It was apparent from the onset the Arrows meant to meticulous dissect the Raiders, finding weaknesses to exploit in building comfortable leads throughout.
From behind the service line, the Arrows picked apart the Raider defense with a variety of floating and flat offerings.
Anneka Bucher served one-of-five aces on the second point of the match, and Kiaya Alderson (four kills, seven digs, one solo block) followed suit finishing with six aces serves.
At the net, the Arrows saw plenty of hardwood down the left line, where both Shelby Bloemendaal (10 kills) and Tiffany Evans (seven kills, seven digs) muscled a myriad of monster missiles.
“They really did, and I credit our setters for that,” Juhl said. “Our setters have been working hard on getting the ball all the way out to the pin so our hitters could make better decisions. Tiff and Shelby were really able to pick their spots off those nice sets.”
PAS setters Morgan Taubert (13 set assists) and Bucher (10) were not only locating the Arrow hitters with accuracy, but also spreading the ball quickly across the net.
“The setters did a great job tonight, putting the ball where it was supposed to be,” Bloemendaal said. “The sets were placed out farther where we
 

 

could hit the line more. It was open there and we were finding the holes out there. Our set selection has improved, so we’re using a variety of different players at the net. Tonight the left was more open, so we took advantage of that.”
The Raiders combated the Arrows opening 4-0 in the first set with a solid block from senior middle Katelyn Renneke to pull even at 4-all.
That would be the only time the visitors could boast an equitable scoreline, however, as Alderson served three aces in helping the Arrows rip off eight consecutive points in establishing a 12-4 lead.
“Those are free points for us, and we talk about making sure we get the ball in,” Juhl said. “It has to go over the net. We’ve really been working on the float serve, it’s a harder ball to pick up on, and we used that to our advantage tonight.”
From there, the Arrow hitters did the rest with Bloemendaal, Tiffany Evans, Alderson, Tarryn Woelber (five kills) Alexis Evans and Maddie Kennedy each finding the hardwood from various angles.
Bloemendaal also showed her hand in garnering free points,’ twice serving for an ace in the Arrows’ 7-1 set-closing run.
Although they were never truly threatened, the Arrows were a bit complacent in the second set, allowing the visitors to remain within striking distance for much of the game.
“That second game got a little sloppy for us, we were waiting for them to make mistakes and, in turn, we were making more mistakes,” Juhl said. “I told them they needed to refocus and get back to playing our game.”
The Arrows were quick to do just that, riding a trio of Alderson ace serves and the solid attacking play of Tiffany Evans and Alexis Evans to pull away from the Raiders in the latter stages of the set.
Much of the Raiders’ success in the middle game was due to a dip in the Arrows’ serve receive, an area the team is constantly striving toward improving.
“They
 

 

went up and down with serve receive tonight had mountains and valleys,” Juhl said. “We want to stay more even on that, and we’ll continue to work on that.”
The Arrows had fully refocused by the third set, and junior libero Taylor Nesvold (21 digs) bolstered the PAS defense with stellar serve reception and accurate passing to Taubert and Bucher.
In turn, the pair again set up the Arrow front row players with a teasing set which they more often than not punished the Fulda defense with.
In response, the Raiders rarely strung more than two points together during a sideout and the Arrows cruised to a comfortable sweep at 25-11.
The Arrow will open their road campaign Tuesday (Sept. 8) in Edgerton, squaring off against crosstown rivals Southwest Christian before visiting the Windom Eagles Thursday evening for their first conference tilt of the season.
“It’s always a battle with Southwest Christian, and they’re always ready to come after us,” Juhl said. “It’s always a top non-conference match for us, and the girls want to go after them right away and get it done.”

R-T-R 3, MCC 1
After dropping their opener to the Pipestone Area Arrows in frustrating fashion last Tuesday (Sept. 1), the Knights (1-1) managed to refocus their efforts in a positive manner Thursday evening in Slayton bouncing back from a first-set loss to claim a 21-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-10, victory over Murray County Central.
R-T-R senior hitter Bailey Possail (six blocks) sparked the Knights’ offense with 14 kills, while Katie Petersen (eight blocks) and Tina Haroldson finished with eight and six kills, respectively.
Senior setter Britney Miersma dished out 10 set assists was 11-of-19 from behind the service line.
Haroldson was 11-of-20 serving with an ace, while she and Alexis Nelson (six blocks) finished with nine and four digs, respectively.
Courtney Petersen also had six blocks on the night, and Possail finished 7-of-15 from behind the service line.
The Knights will face state-ranked Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in Tracy Tuesday (Sept. 8) before hosting Renville County West Thursday in Tyler.