Loyal defeats Marathon at home in 4 sets

By Valorie Brecht The Loyal High School volleyball team rose to the challenge and defeated the Marathon Red Raiders their matchup last Thursday at Loyal.

The first set began with the Greyhounds getting to an early lead and going as much as 11 points ahead of Marathon. However, the Raiders rallied back to close the gap to 8 points. However, Loyal quickly finished things off with three kills at the end of the game — one to the back corner, one to the baseline and one more in an open spot — to close it out 25-17.

Marathon came out strong in the second set and was matching Loyal point for point for a while, if not going ahead. The teams tied at 9, 10, 11 and 12. But then Marathon made a little run for it, aided by a few of Loyal mistakes such as service errors, or hitting into the net or out of bounds. Before long, the Raiders were leading 22-15. Loyal head coach Jaedyn Pieper called a timeout to rally the troops and encourage them to take a deep breath and reset. The Greyhounds did score a couple more points after the break, but it wasn’t enough to catch the Raiders, who won the set 25-17.

The third set was again a battle, the teams tying at 3 and 6 and several long volleys. But this time, Loyal pretty quickly got the upper hand, helped by Marathon mistakes. Loyal was up by as much as 6 points, 19-13. But Marathon again showed its scrapiness by fighting back. Some miscommunication and errors on Loyal’s part helped Marathon get back into it. Pretty soon it was 23-20 with Loyal leading. After a long battle, Loyal won the next point. But Marathon snuck in a tip on the next volley to score as well, making 24-21. On the next volley, Loyal got called for touching the net, making it 24-22. However, on the next play Laila Prior back set the ball to Addysen Wolf, who got a kill to close it out for Loyal, with a final score of 25-22.

The Greyhounds carried their momentum into the fourth set, narrowly winning that one as well with a score of 25-23, to cap things off three sets to one.

Wolf led the team with 20 kills. Hope Peroshek led the team in other areas, with three ace serves and 22 digs. Prior led the team in assists, with 35.

“I am very proud of this team and how they played. They came out really strong and finished together as a team. Our passing was strong last night and that sets up a really effective offense. We have been putting more of an emphasis on serving as well, and last night we served 93% as a team. That is important for us to make sure teams earn their points from us; giving them a free point on a missed serve is something we have been working on fixing,” Piper wrote in an email.

She also noted that the team was more aggressive at the net than they had been in some previous games.

“As far as our blocking, each and every front row player had a solo block last night. The girls have done well working together to close those blocks to take away the seam, so our defense can adjust quickly. Marathon also had great blocking, making my girls work harder on finding open spots on the court. I’m proud of my girls for coming across a team that has strong blocks and being able to find ways to adjust and collect kills,” Pieper wrote.

Besides the win, the game hit another high note with a total of $1,457.06 raised for the Loyal Fire Fund. In a “miracle minute,” players from both teams went into the stands and collected donations for those affected by the recent downtown fire in Loyal, with $1,035.06 collected. There also was a 50/50 raffle for the cause, with the winner, Bucky Deegan, donating his winnings back to the fund. Fans also dropped off non-perishable food items for the Loyal Food Pantry, which was destroyed in the blaze.

VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTOS