Staying calm.
It's key to a good volleyball serve, according to Fort Calhoun sophomore Sophie Weeks.
An established routine and communication with coaches is essential, too.
“And then make sure you contact the ball out in front of you and not behind you,” the Pioneer added.
On Monday night against Cornerstone Christian, Weeks went on separate serving streaks across the first, second and third sets of a 3-0 FCHS home sweep. She had six aces as the Pioneers improved to 6-8 with the 25-14, 25-13 and 25-11 victory on Parents Night.
“Our goal tonight was just to run a lot of different plays,” said Calhoun senior Raegen Wells, who had a team-best eight kills. “We wanted to play fast. We wanted to get bench players in.”
Coach Liv Sevcik's team succeeded with Jovi Grenier producing match point on her own ace serve. It was her second in a row after senior Shelby Dorau notched a block at 20-5 during the third set.
First, though, Cornerstone Christian earned a 5-2 lead to start the opening set with Fort Calhoun. The Pioneers righted things, though, with kills by Wells, Dorau and Ansley Elofson as well as aces by Bria Bench and Simone Bonacci.
Weeks made her mark from the 19-14 mark on, though, serving up a set-point ace at the conclusion.
“After a few (serves), I was like, 'Let's try to get some aces or something like that,'” the sophomore said after the match.
FCHS' success continued into the second set with Bench's kill to the back line giving the Pioneers an 8-6 advantage. Wells notched a kill at 14-7, too, while Weeks tallied a service ace at 19-7.
Senior Abbey Lienemann scored a kill at 22-11 and her team earned a 2-0 lead, comfortably.
Before Calhoun substitutes finished off the the third set late, Weeks served her team to an 8-1 lead. Bench's kill made it 9-2 before Mollie Dierks' ace pushed the lead to nine.
The Pioneers have won three of their last four matches and next compete Monday against Douglas County West. The home match will start at approximately 7 p.m.
FCHS VOLLEYBALL LINE SCORE
Monday
Fort Calhoun 3, Cornerstone Christian 0
CC (6-7) 14 13 11 — 0
FCHS (6-8) 25 25 25 — 3
