~courtesy of The Scranton Journal
The Greene County volleyball team opened the 2021 season on a winning streak. The Rams topped both comers in a triangular Tuesday, Aug. 24, and then smashed Fort Dodge St Edmonds in three games on Thursday. Both contests were on the Ram home court.
Tuesday it was Glidden-Ralston who proved to be the biggest challenge for the Rams in two close games, 25-22 and 25-23. Collins-Maxwell fell to Greene County 25-10 and 25-12.
Thursday Greene County was pushed in the first two games by St Ed’s, 25-22 and 29-27. The Rams overpowered the Gaels in the third and deciding game, 25-13.
“After narrowly defeating Glidden-Ralston, we came back with only one practice to make some changes. The girls embraced the challenge to step up in our passing, knowing our offense was completely dependent on that first pass,” said coach Chris Heisterkamp. “We have more work to do, but in our St. Ed’s match, when passing was off, they forged ahead with tenacity to stay in the fight and not back down.
“In past years, we may have buckled under the pressure and fizzled far short of our potential. But the 29-27 finish in the second set showed everyone what was in our girls, an unwavering determination,” continued Heisterkamp. “That kind of mindset can take us far, and I hope to see more of it as we head into our tougher conference matches.”
Junior Bella Schroeder is leading the Ram offense with 23 kills in the first three matches. Sophomore Kaylee Stalder is right behind with 19 slams. Also contributing to the offense are: Emma Shipley, freshman, 13 kills; Brianna Habben, senior, 10 kills; Emma Ewalt, freshman, and Natalie Heupel, junior, seven kills, and Katrina Heupel, junior, six kills.
Natalie Heupel is leading the serving category with only one miss in 34 attempts. Ewalt has gone 37/39 while Graci Cooklin, sophomore, is 18/19.
The Heupel twins top the defense with 18 digs (Natalie) and 15 digs (Katrina). Alexa Peters, junior, and Ewalt both have 12.
Schroeder and Natalie Heupel are defending the net with six and four blocks each.
The Rams have an open schedule this week and will continue to work in practice to improve. The next match is Tuesday, Sept. 7, hosting PCM followed by a road trip to Roland-Story on Thursday.
