By Molly Hemberger
The junior high volleyball season is underway. The 8th-grade team members include Libby Soucek, Kaylee Karr, Moly Hemberger, Brooklyn Himmelberg, Aleigha Mankhey, Abby Dumler, and Cerenity Simpson. The 7th-grade members are Alivia Pankoke, Araya Gomez, Jerzey Brittain, Elisha Johnson, and Ava Sorensen. To start their season, the girls lost to the Red Cloud Warriors. With A team fighting hard for a win the sets came out as 25-17 and 25-11, respectively. Both were handed to Red Cloud. Head Coach Shelby Rupprecht said, “The score of the game didn’t reflect how we played. I saw a lot of good things to start off the season.” To conclude the junior high games at Red Cloud, the B team, like the A team, fought for that winning score. The sets ended up being 25-11 for the first and the second set being 25-21. Simpson came off with an ace in the A team game and in the B team Gomez, Pankoke, and Johnson came out with aces of their own. That same week, the Mustangs battled Lawrence Nelson. The A team started off with momentum and pushed hard for the win. The first set which was 25-15 was handed to the Mustangs. Simpson, pushing her serves, had an 11-point run while Hemberger and Dumler came off with aces themselves. In the second set, the Mustangs fell to the Raiders with 25-19. To end the A-team game the girls played in a third set for 15. Unfortunately, the Mustangs fell short and lost 15-8. Coach Ruppecht said, “The team really improved on their strengths. When we play aggressively and are having fun we play so much better.” In the B team game, the game ended early due to a time crunch. Both teams had a set. In the first set Johnson, Brittain, Gomez, and Pankoke, all had their own aces. In the second set, Johnson served three service points in a row to give the Mustangs the victory. Coach Rupprecht stated, “Our aggressiveness and communication have improved immensely. The level of our excitement from the first game to the second game was spectacular. We play much better when we have energy.”