Halloween is just around the corner, so the Yellow Jackets Volleyball team borrowed a witch’s broom to sweep the Vikings in straight sets in the Hive: 25-19, 25-19 and 25-23.
The Moorefield JV squad opened the night with a treat getting a 2-1 match win over Petersburg: 27-25, 15-25 and 25-20.
The Yellow Jackets have been downtrodden lately and this was a big confidence booster and a response to the defeat in Petersburg earlier this season.
It was a tight match starting out with ties thrice up to 3-all with Moorefield earning points on attacks by Raleigh Kuykendall, Annie Barr and Brenna See, while the Vikings got points on errors and an attack by Miley Tingler.
Moorefield grabbed a 6-3 lead on a couple errors and an ace delivered by Kuykendall.
The Yellow Jackets gained more separation for a 14-7 advantage which included service points by Emmy Crites and attack by Barr.
Moorefield’s Aubrey Kidwell helped keep the floor clear with digs.
Petersburg’s Addy Day notched a point on a redirect going awry, then See made a dig and Barr saved the ball with a counter by Tingler for a spike closing the gap to 14-13.
Moorefield’s CiCi Kump served up two aces as the lead went up to 19-14.
Petersburg snatched two points on a kill by Tingler and ace served by Blair Loy.
The Yellow Jackets countered with two spikes from Kuykendall.
Moorefield closed out the set with a couple kills by Lexi Vanmeter and a final spike by Liddy Keplinger for the 25-19 win.
Petersburg rallied to tie the second set at 3-all on an ace by Tingler after attacks made by Moorefield’s Crites and Kuykendall created a 3-1 edge.
See blocked a shot and made a kill for a 6-4 edge.
The Vikings fought back with the help of errors and an ace by Day for an 8-7 lead.
The Yellow Jackets regained the lead for good scoring four straight points to take an 11-8 edge as Keplinger and Vanmeter landed spikes and Kump tapped the ball over for a point.
Kump denied a volley, then Vanmeter served an ace and Kuykendall smashed the ball for a 15-10 lead.
Down the stretch, Crites served an ace and another serve was returned out for a 22-15 score.
Loy served an ace and Tingler smacked the ball and errors helped cut the deficit to 25-19.
The Yellow Jackets finished the second set with a spike by Kuykendall, 25-19.
Moorefield took a 3-1 edge in the third set with the help of errors, then Petersburg rallied for an 8-4 lead as Day made several kills and more miscues occurred.
The Yellow Jackets chipped away at the margin with attacks by Kuykendall and See, plus service point from Kidwell and digs to tie the set at 12-all.
See created a block and Kuykendall delivered an ace, then an attack by See was returned into the net giving Moorefield a 15-14 lead.
Petersburg recoiled off a block by Vanmeter with Ayden Mayfield tapping the ball for a point.
Petersburg went u[ 17-15, but the Yellow Jackets battle back with attacks by Vanmeter and serves from See to regain the lead 19-17.
The third set would be tied five more times down the stretch with the last coming on an attack by Barr for a 23-all score.
Crites made a dig, then a volley by Kuykendall was redirected into the net and the Yellow Jackets sealed the win with an ace by Kump, 25-23 and 3-nil match overall.
“I think Moorefield wanted to win more than we did. After the way we beat them, they went to work and got fired up. They wanted to win and played harder. They out-hustled us on the court and had more grit tonight. We made a lot of mistakes and they took it to us. That’s what happens when you come to a game not ready to play,” Petersburg coach Shannon Earle remarked.
Moorefield hosted Tucker County last night for the annual breast cancer awareness night and senior night will be tomorrow against Frankfort in the Hive.
