Photo by John Gentry at wpchiefs.com
White Pigeon’s volleyball team picked up its first St. Joseph Valley League victory Wednesday night in a three-game affair at Centreville. The Chiefs won 25-20, 25-18 and 25-16 to improve to 17-9-1 overall.
The host Bulldogs served over 90 percent, a goal coach Melissa Gales had been hoping all season to hit, but White Pigeon was just as efficient from the service line and finished with only two errors.
“We had a rough night passing the ball, but we played well in several other areas tonight,” Chiefs coach Tony Hooley said. “I believe [serving] was a big reason why the momentum changed in our favor in those first two sets, where we had to battle from behind to win. We were also scrappy on the floor to sustain several rallies until we could convert several of them into points.”
The usual suspects provided the offensive firepower for White Pigeon, but Hooley pointed out some others who added a little extra black powder to the mix.
“Bethany Hagner and Dani Chantrenne really came up big for us tonight, both serving and attacking,” Hooley said. “Our two middles, Kathrina Hagner and Sydney Harmon, were also swinging well tonight. Kat had her best production of the season, while Syd is starting to find her groove.”
Kathrina Hagner produced 10 kills and three blocks, and Harmon added three kills. Bethany Hagner led the squad with 13 kills and six aces, while also chipping in 10 digs. Rachel Brock posted 14 digs, Chantrenne added 10 kills and 12 digs and Riley Phelps had a team-best 15 digs. Skyler DeMeyer was credited with 20 assists.
Centreville dropped to 4-7 overall and 0-2 in SJV play. Sam Lewis had four aces, Madison Hunter collected nine assists, Bailee May recorded four kills and Charity Yeager finished with 17 digs to pace the Bulldogs.
“We did well passing, we just did get enough kill attacks,” Gales said. “We need to have stronger finishes offensively and fine tune our opportunities to attack.”