The Nemaha Central Middle School volleyball matches with Holton were held at the Nemaha Central High School on Monday, September 16. The matches were very intense, with shouts from fans always being heard.
The first set in the eighth grade A-team game started off on shaky ground. Holton served quite a few times before the Thunder girls were in a rhythm and working together. The NC girls tried to come back, but Holton took the win in the first set with a score of 15-25. In the second set of the match, the NC girls passed, set, and hit with a purpose. Their serves were tough to receive, and they dominated the second set with a score of 25-11. The third and final set of the eighth grade A-team turned into a loss for NC. Holton started strong, and never looked back, claiming the victory for the match with a score of 7-15.
Anna Hermesch said, “We didn’t do great during the first set, but we improved a lot during the second set. Hopefully we show Holton what we’re capable of at the tournament.”
In the eighth grade B-team match, the first set went very well for NC. There were a lot of freeballs over the net, but NC had some good tips and hits. The game ended with a score of 25-17, NC with the win. The second set of the match found NC going downhill a bit. The NC girls seemed to have lost their spark, losing the second set with a score of 17-25, giving Holton a chance to win in the third set. In the third set, the Thunder girls gained their confidence back, and racked up another win with the score 15-11.
The first set in the seventh grade A-team match started with Holton in the lead. The NC girls started gaining points back, but came up just short losing the first set 22-25. The second set went amazingly well for the Thunder team after short, but motivational words from Coach Carly Hill. The girls had multiple aces, hits, and tips, with just an occasional free ball to rack up points. The score at the end of the set was 25-8, with the Thunder girls winning by a landslide. The third set was a close one for NC. Holton was passing more freeballs over the net, in hopes to get their lead back. However, with all the effort put forth by the NC girls, they were able to play well and get the win 15-12.
The seventh grade B-team match went similar to the seventh grade A-team one. In the first set, the NC girls lost a lot of points to serves in the net. They started to get out of it, but were a little too late with Holton claiming the win in the first set, 20-25. In the second set of the match, NC took the lead, gaining confidence. They had some good hits, which helped them win the second set 25-19. Going into the third set, the NC team was fired up wanting the win. They jumped out in front of Holton and played aggressive ball to keep the lead and get the match win with a third set score of 15-10.
Bianca Frye said, “It went really well, and it was really fun to play.”
Click the link below for more pictures of the volleyball matches with Holton.