~by Dustin Teays for The Scranton Journal
This past week was filled with plenty of wins for the Greene County Rams volleyball team.
The Rams opened up the week with a trip Sept. 9 to take on the Jayettes in Perry, where they came away with a 3-0 win (25-11, 25-18, 25-15). Solid performances all around earned the Rams the victory, including another outstanding performance from Violet Reedy.
“Violet continues to do a great job running our offense. She has to make very quick decisions to find the right hitter in the moment for our best chance of scoring. It’s amazing how she flies across the court to chase down a ball, giving all her effort to deliver something hittable to our front row,” head coach Chris Heisterkamp said. “We saw our hitters take things up a notch. They seemed more confident and had a little more punch to their swing. We’ve been trying to strengthen our off-speed options, and I saw our hitters working to strategically place the tips for a score.”
The Rams saw more action last week when they took on Grandview Christian at Faith Bible College in Ankeny on Thursday. The Rams put in another solid performance, taking the match 3-1 (17-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-19). While the Rams ended with the win, it wasn’t without adversity, as they lost the first set.
“Despite the slow start, we rallied with tremendous tenacity and had a fighting spirit that rose up to get the job done. It was a great night for our team (all three levels had wins), and I’m extremely proud of how they all played,” Heisterkamp said.
The Rams volleyball team rounded out the week by taking on the South Hardin Tournament Sept. 14, which saw them finish the day with a record of 2-2. They lost to Gladbrook-Reinbeck 0-2 (19-21,11-21) and South Hardin 0-2 (12-21, 8-21). The Rams picked up wins against Oelwein 2-1 (16-21, 21-17, 15-10) and Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 2-0 (21-18, 21-19).
“We were off a few steps for the first two matches. Serve receive passing and serving tends to set the tone for us, and we fell short of our goals early on, but we rallied and found a way to battle back for the last two tough matches. We ended with some intense volleys and finished strong, in both offense and defense,” Heisterkamp concluded.
Next up for the Rams, was a triangular against South Central Calhoun and Panorama Sept. 17.
Greene County 3 Perry 0
Kills: Emma Shipley 9, Ella Shipley 9, Payton Kokenge 8, Lila Osterson 3, Emma Ewalt 3, Violet Reedy 2, Bellah Johnson 1
Blocks: Emma Shipley 4, Ella Shipley 2, Violet Reedy 2, Lila Osterson 1
Assists: Violet Reedy 31, Hailey Carman 2,
Digs: Bellah Johnson 16, Emma Ewalt 9, Hailey Carman 6, Addison Gannon 5, Violet Reedy 3, Payton Kokenge 2, Lila Osterson 1
Greene County 3 GVC 1
Kills: Emma Shipley 16, Emma Ewalt 9, Lila Osterson 8, Payton Kokenge 3, Ella Shipley 1, Bellah Johnson 1
Blocks: Emma Shipley 1, Ella Shipley 1, Violet Reedy 1, Payton Kokenge 1, Lila Osterson 1
Assists: Violet Reedy 29, Emma Ewalt 1, Bellah Johnson 1, Hailey Carman 1, Addison Gannon 1, Ella Shipley 1
Digs: Bellah Johnson 14, Hailey Carman 9, Payton Kokenge 7, Emma Ewalt 6, Lila Osterson 4, Violet Reedy 4, Addison Gannon 2, Ella Shipley 1, Emma Shipley 1
Greene County 0 S. Hardin 2
Kills: Emma Shipley 3, Payton Kokenge 2, Lila Osterson 1, Emma Ewalt 1
Blocks: Emma Shipley 2, Violet Reedy 2,
Assists: Violet Reedy 7, Ella Shipley 1
Digs: Bellah Johnson 5, Emma Ewalt 2, Lila Osterson 1, Payton Kokenge 1, Hailey Carman 1
