As they do, the Fort Calhoun and Arlington volleyball teams opened the season Thursday on opposite sides of the net.
After a tight, back-and-forth first set, the Pioneers earned the 3-0 home sweep against the Eagles — 25-23, 25-7 and 25-20.
“It was amazing,” FCHS middle hitter Shelby Dorau said. “That was my favorite-est thing in the whole wide world, especially against Arlington.”
Coach Liz Sevcik's team was particularly pleased in the end after coming back from a 12-3 deficit during the third set to win.
“I feel like that's the progress we've made from last year to this year,” senior Raegen Wells said. “We're a whole different team.”
The opening set of the 2023 fall campaign, however, started in a 10-10 tie. The Pioneers' Abbey Lienemann beat a block and Wells sent one kill-worthy spike to the back corner during the stretch, while Arlington's Austyn Flesner and Lizzie Meyer scored service aces.
From there, the Washington County teams traded leads. Wells' swing beat a block and Sophie Weeks served an ace for Calhoun's 17-15 advantage before Macy Wolf's win at the net earned a 23-21 lead for the Eagles.
In the end, though, FCHS sophomore Simone Bonacci subbed into the match for the first time and made back-to-back attacks leading to the 25-23 set victory.
“She did a very good job,” Dorau said. “I know she was nervous, but I'm very proud of her. She played so well.”
The momentum shift transitioned into a dominant second set for the Pioneers. Bonacci scored a 1-0 lead with a kill off of an Arlington block before Mollie Dierks' ace made it 5-1. Bria Bench won a play at the net at 8-2 and Gracie Lasher served up an ace at 9-2.
Dorau and Wells added kills down the stretch, too, as Fort Calhoun won the set by 18 points.
“In our second set, obviously, we didn't mesh well,” Arlington coach Stacy Nelson said. “And in our third set, we started to trust each other and pass the ball well.”
Down 2-0, the Eagles built a 12-3 lead in what ended up as the final set. Junior Kaylie Herman and Wolf each recorded service aces during the fast start.
FCHS battled back, though, scratching away at their county neighbors' leads. Wells finally hammered the volleyball through an AHS block to tie up the set at 20-all.
“All we did was pick each other up,” the senior said. “There was never once where we were negative.”
Pioneers freshman Ansley Elofson took it to the Eagles from there. The new starting setter, who also takes swings from the right side, first scored a kill before a block made it 22-20.
Coach Sevcik's team registered the next three points, too. Underclassmen like Elofson, Emilee Thayer-Mencke, Lasher, Weeks and Bonacci played significant roles in the overall win.
“Oh, they did so good,” Dorau said. “They stepped up so well.”
Elofson said the Pioneers' veterans, meanwhile, were key to the success of her debut.
“At the beginning, it was a little nerve-wracking, but then, once I got on the court, my teammates really helped me get through it,” she said. “They had great passes to me, and they just helped me along the way.”
In defeat, coach Nelson said Arlington's Callee Shearer, Jodi Jones and Flesner played well in the opener.
“She played great defense for us,” she said of the junior libero, Shearer.
Nelson noted Jones' strong contributions off of the bench, while Flesner, a senior, played well in her new position. The setter “is learning new things every game and working hard at it,” the coach explained.
Overall, though, the Fort Calhoun Pioneers were better in match No. 1.
“I'm so ready for the rest of the season,” Wells said. “It's going to be great.”
FCHS hosts tourney
The campaign continued Saturday with a home, four-team tournament in Fort Calhoun.
The Pioneers stretched their set winning streak to five in the opener against Winnebago, 25-12 and 25-15. They then faced Logan View/Scribner-Snyder in the first-place match and lost in three sets — 25-19, 24-26 and 25-19.
FCHS earned a lead against the Raiders during the first set, but ultimately lost it. Thayer-Mencke's kill made the score 9-6 before Wells' ace put the home squad ahead 14-11.
Logan View battled back from there, though, securing a 17-16 lead and holding it until the end of the opening set.
The Pioneers forced a third set with their second, though. Wells' ace and Dorau's kill at 10-8 gave the the home team an advantage it wouldn't lose until 24-24. Dorau and Thayer-Mencke's set-sealing kills won it, however.
In the third, Logan View took an early 8-3 lead. FCHS cut into the advantage and was within 20-18 late on Bench's tap over the net and to the floor, but it fell short, finishing second in its home tourney.
AHS plays matches in Plattsmouth
Arlington lost its first match of the season to Fort Calhoun, but it beat Ralston on Saturday during a 1-2 Plattsmouth tournament run.
Coach Nelson's Eagles topped the Rams in three sets for their first win of the fall. AHS dropped the first set 27-25, but responded with wins of 25-17 and 25-16.
“We battled it out with them,” Nelson said. “Macy and Lizzie, our middles, were huge contributors not only with their hitting and net play, but defense in the back row.”
Wolf had eight kills in the match — AHS' second of the tourney — and five aces, while Meyer notched four aces with 10 digs. Shearer had 10 digs, too.
The Eagles lost their first match of the tournament, however, to Class B No. 3 Norris in two sets. The eventual tourney victors won the first 25-20 before putting away the match with a 25-7 second.
In the third match, the host Blue Devils won 25-18, 25-16, too.
“We got into a hole and just never dug our way back out,” Nelson said. “But, as a whole, we are improving each game.”
PREP VOLLEYBALL LINE SCORES
Saturday
Plattsmouth 2, Arlington 0
AHS (1-3) 18 16 — 0
PHS 25 25 — 2
Arlington 2, Ralston 1
RHS 27 17 16 — 1
AHS (1-2) 25 25 25 — 3
Logan View/Scribner-Snyder 2, Fort Calhoun 1
LVSS 25 24 25 — 2
FCHS (2-1) 19 26 19 — 1
No. 3 Norris 2, Arlington 0
NHS 25 25 — 2
AHS (0-2) 20 7 — 0
Fort Calhoun 2, Winnebago 0
WIN 12 15 — 0
FCHS (2-0) 25 25 — 2
Thursday
Fort Calhoun 3, Arlington 0
AHS (0-1) 23 7 20 — 0
FCHS (1-0) 25 25 25 — 3
