~courtesy of The Scranton Journal
The Greene County volleyball team defeated Saydel 3-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 17, and fell to conference foe Gilbert 0-3 and to Carroll 0-2 at a triangular in Jefferson Sept. 19.
Senior Aubrey Heupel, Greene County’s setter, passed the 1000-career-assist mark at the South Hardin tournament on Sept. 14. A presentation was made at the home match on Sept. 19 to recognize her achievement. The presentation will be repeated at the Homecoming football game on Oct. 4.
Heupel has been the setter at the varsity level her sophomore, junior and senior years. She is the daughter of Dave and Kristen Heupel of Jefferson.
Rams 25-25-25
Saydel 14-3-8
Brianna Osterson led the team in kills with 11, followed by Lily Muir with 10. Osterson also topped the serving stats with a 24/24 stand at the line with five aces. Aubrey Heupel and Paige Heaning each stroked 13/14 with an ace. Heupel set 28 assists while Heaning had four digs and Harleigh Weir had five.
“We faced Saydel at the South Hardin Tournament a couple of weeks ago. We had an easy time with them, and perhaps let up a little too much in that match,” explained coach Chris Heisterkamp. “For our conference meeting this past week, the goal was to not take them lightly, but to stick to our game plan and be aggressive.
“Our libero, Paige Heaning, took most of the serve receive passing duties and passed nearly perfect all night. Her passes and great defensive plays from others led to easy set ups for our hitters, who pounded the ball. Everything was working smoothly.”
Gilbert 25-25-25
Rams 17-12-11
In another conference match, the Rams lost three games to Gilbert by scores of 17-25, 12-25 and 11-25.
“We knew Gilbert would be tough, and although we took advantage of a few of their mistakes early on, we just couldn’t keep up,” admitted Heisterkamp. “Gilbert’s height, strength and smart offense overpowered us. Our passing was weak, so we couldn’t get much going with our offense, and it seemed we were playing defense most of the time.”
Muir and Osterson led the Rams in kills with eight and five respectively. Heupel set 11 assists. Heaning covered the defensive end of the court with 11 digs. Heupel, Muir and Osterson each added five digs.
Muir went 13/14 with three aces while Heaning, Sophia Havens and Osterson were perfect from the line. The team stroked 37/42 for 88 percent.
Carroll 25-25
Rams 18-22
Carroll topped Greene County in two sets 25-18 and 25-22.
“We rallied back after the break and had some exciting volleys with Carroll,” stated Heisterkamp. “Our serving was outstanding with only one miss the entire match. Carroll was also a strong opponent, and in order to stay close, we had to come up higher in all areas. I feel we met that challenge and although we couldn’t come away with the win, we put up a great fight and it made us better.”
Muir led the team with six kills, followed by Osterson with four. Heupel set 14 assists. Harleigh Weir hustled for five digs while Heaning and Osterson each picked up four.
Weir was perfect at the line in 10 serves as was Heupel in eight attempts. Muir stroked 9/10. The team finished the night 41/42 for 98 percent.
Greene County travels to Roland-Story Monday for an eight-team tournament beginning at 4:30 pm Tuesday, Oct. 1, Prairie City-Monroe comes to Jefferson and Thursday the Rams are in Ogden for a triangular with the hosts and Southeast Valley.
