~by Dustin Teays for The Scranton Journal
The Paton-Churdan Rockets volleyball team is still searching for their third win of the season.
The Rockets had a two match week this past week, falling to the CAM Cougars 3-0 (20-25, 13-25, 13-25) and then facing off against the Coon Rapids-Bayard Crusaders falling 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-9).
While the Rockets finished the week out 0-2 in matches played they competed in both matches all the way through to the end.
The Rockets sit with a 2-8 record so far this season with their wins being their first two matches of the year against Storm Lake St. Mary’s and Orient-Macksburg as they celebrated their first wins since the 2022-23 season where they finished 1-21 in matches played.
While the record isn’t what the Rockets would want at this point in the season, there are multiple players who are having themselves a good season. Grace Cullum is near the top in assists in the Rolling Valley Conference with 62 and Mia Russell isn’t far behind with 13.
Both Alivya Smith and Mia Russell are in the Top 30 in the conference in digs with 130 and 125 respectively. Kaliyah Minnihan is also towards the top of those in the conference with the best serve efficiency with a 94.9 percent, so there is no shortage of things for this team to be proud of.
This is also a young team as of the nine players currently on the roster, only three are a senior or a junior with the remaining players being one freshman and five sophomores. Those underclassmen will look to be the building blocks of future Rockets volleyball teams.
Next up, the Rockets have a match scheduled against the Ar-We-Va Rockets on Oct. 10 with that match scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Looking further ahead on the calendar, the Rockets have a match against the Colo-Nesco Royals set for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15.
P-C 0 CAM 3
Kills: Alivya Smith 5, Mia Russell 3, Kaliyah Minnihan 3, Grace Cullum 1, Madison Roper 1, Maggie Reed 1, Ella Tasler 1
Assists: Grace Cullum 7, Ella Tasler 3, Madison Roper 1
Digs: Alivya Smith 19, Mia Russell 14, Kaliyah Minnihan 11, Ella Tasler 6, Maggie Reed 5, Madison Roper 4, Grace Cullum 4
P-C 0 CR-B 3
Kills: Alivya Smith 2, Kaliyah Minnihan 1, Grace Cullum 1, Mia Russell 1Assists: Grace Cullum 1, Mia Russell 1, Maggie Reed 1, Holly Miller 1
Digs: Mia Russell 10, Alivya Smith 8, Grace Cullum 6, Maggie Reed 4, Madison Roper 3, Holly Miller 2
