A long bus ride proved to be worth it as the Pioneer Volleyball team swept Schuyler in their opening game of the 2021 campaign. New faces and a new lineup caused a bit of a slow start for the Pioneers, but they were able to shake an early 12-4 deficit to come back and win the first set 25-17.
In the second set, it was back and forth through the first half before the Pioneers were able to pull away and create a lead to win 25-19. In the final stanza, Allie Bassinger went on a huge serving run to make the game wide open and the Pioneers won the third set 25-14. Offensively, the Pioneers were led by Katie Schreiter and Laney Denniston registering 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Brooke Thorne chipped in with 2 kills. Tierra Andrew tallied 9 digs in the win, while also recording 3 ace serves. In their first starts running the offense for the Pioneers, Jayce Harrah and Casey Smith had 11 and 7 assistants. The Pioneers had a match high 16 aces in the win. Laney Denniston and Allie Bassinger had 5 and 4 aces from the back line. This fall, the Pioneer Volleyball team looks to fill four missing pieces from last year’s roster; Alexis Hoover, Rachel Russell, Madi Mitchell and Asya Andrew are all moving on to their lives after high school. The average fan may wonder how the Nebraska City Pioneers are going to fill those positions. Luckily, lots of underclassmen were biding their time for a chance to show what they can do to help the Pioneer cause. First, returning with three years of varsity experience at all positions, lone senior Katie Schreiter will lead the way for the Pioneers at the pin and in serve receive. Playing last season as a six rotation outside, she will continue to thrive in that position with an entire off season of irreplaceable touches. Her arm and platform look as confident as ever. Look for Katie to be the go to in some tight situations for the Pioneers. Alongside Katie, Halle Thompson brings two years of varsity experience to the court. Just like Katie, her all around game continues to improve and Pioneer fans will see her offseason improvements are impressive. If ball handling for the Pioneers continues to be a priority, Halle will make some noise out of the middle. The final offensive returner for the Pioneers is sophomore, Laney Denniston. Her time being the rookie on the court is over and her defensive anticipation and aggressive net play will prove that. While still gaining strength and arm speed, the experience gained last year will help her to contribute to the Pioneers in very needed ways. Pay attention as Laney will make herself known this year as a six rotation darkhorse. This is where things get interesting… who will fill in the open spots remaining from last year’s squad… Casey Smith, through the offseason and in practices last fall, earned a spot to contribute this season. Her overall skill set is wide and she could be a utility player in lots of tight situations for the Pioneers. Her platform and serve receive ability, her serve and, most importantly, her communication are among the team’s best. Casey Smith will be on the court for the Pioneers… where? Time will tell. Tierra Andrew and Emmalee Moore are both juniors who’ve shown they are serious about helping Pioneer volleyball get better. Their defensive intensity and IQ grows every day. Look for these two to leave practice with bruises as they do what they can to make sure no ball hits the floor in practice… or games. Jayce Harrah, Brooke Thorne, Allie Bassinger, Skyelar Lawal are the pieces of the puzzle that don't quite have a place, yet. Once the pieces find their home, Pioneer volleyball will escalate to a new level this year. Does the puzzle come together sooner or too late? These sophomores will be working for a spot to help the 2021 Pioneers have their most successful season in recent times. How does the team succeed? Defense and ball control are two focuses right now for the volleyball team. If those two things remain a priority and pride is taken in those aspects of the game, there are good things coming for Pioneer Volleyball. Finding the balance between aggressive play and game management will be the key for the young Pioneers taking the floor with only one senior this year. Pioneers take the floor this Friday with two preseason matches against Lincoln High and Millard South; two fantastic opportunities to play good volleyball against good opponents. August 11, 2021 New faces, new approach and a new sense of confidence are a few of things that Pioneer Volleyball found this summer during their training. Along with seven freshmen joining the roster this year, McKenzie Snyder (Jr.), Grace Connor (So.), Skyelar Lawal (So.), and Holly Lechner (Fr.) joined the squad. According to Coach Kuntz, they’ve all been great additions and have meshed well as preseason conditioning and workouts have begun. The Pioneers have been reporting at 5:30 A.M. each day this week to condition and get some extra training in each morning before school. The coaches have been overly impressed with their steady and honest approach to some tough workouts. The Pioneers have taken an eyes up mentality to each challenge and workout this summer… and, from the outside looking in, it doesn’t look like the girls have any interest in changing that approach as the season has taken off. The highlight of the summer was a team trip to The University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO to compete in a team camp hosted by the UNC Bears Volleyball program. Two teams competed in the tournament. The top team competed in the Division I tournament and we finished tied for 13th out of 42 teams. The team’s growth on the trip was undeniable and the confidence and trust between players was the most notable. The team finished .500 in Colorado (6-6), playing 12 games in three days. The second team competed in the Division III tournament. With all the room to grow, these kids took advantage of the opportunity and they finished the tournament winning two games on the last day. The amount of improvement shown in three days is hard to describe in words. The Pioneers enter into the 2021 season with a roster of 23 girls. Katie Schreiter is the only senior. Heading into a season with only one returning senior on the roster can be tough, but Katie is a fantastic leader and ready to make her senior season the most successful as a Pioneer. Katie has this to say about the upcoming season, “This summer we improved so much in a short amount of time. We accomplished a lot and spent our time productively getting better as players and teammates. I’m looking forward to playing my last season of high school with a great group of girls by my side. I’m excited to watch all of our hard work and effort finally come together.” The Pioneers will be training and preparing for their first chance to compete on August 20th in their Jamboree match at Lincoln High School. The Pioneers will play Lincoln High and Millard South before starting their official season against Schuyler High School on August 27th. |
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September 2022
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