PITSBURG — Twin Valley South’s volleyball team continued its perfect start to the season with a pair of wins last week.
South won its fifth match of the season to remain unbeaten, narrowly beating Franklin-Monroe in five sets on Thursday, Sept. 1, 25-11, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 15-11.
“Thankfully we won both,” coach Leslie Roberts said. “We were the more experienced team against Franklin-Monroe. They had the younger, more athletic team but we were able to prevail. I’m proud of my kids. It was an all out effort by everyone in this game, no one player carried the team.”
Everyone stood out at one point or another in this tough game, according to Roberts. Abby Beneke had a career-high 25 kills in the game, 26 digs and three blocks. Mylan Crews logged 32 assists and seven kills. Delaney Adams had 24 points off serve receive, four aces, and 21 digs. Madison Wright went 46-of-49 on serve receive and 29 digs. Emma Fergus had two digs and eight kills, Sidney Mowell had 11 kills, Zoe Utsinger had a dig and two kills, Audrey Chesney had two digs, three kills, and Samantha Janecek had three digs and a block assist.
Earlier last week, the Lady Panthers defeated Mississinawa Valley in three sets, 25-18, 25-22, 25-21.
Beneke paced South’s attack with 20 kills, while Crews contributed with 23 assists. Wright charted 34 digs while going 25- of-27 on serve receive. Mowell chipped in 15 serve points, two aces, and seven digs. Emma Fergus had six kills, while Janecek and Chesney each had four kills.
“I give credit to Mississinawa Valley for challenging us, but we don’t panic at home. We love our gym and we play well here,” Roberts said.
Roberts credits the entire team for the recent success.
“Volleyball is a team sport. Our team is well balanced and just gets the job done. You can never count anyone out in the game because so much can go right and go wrong during the game so you have to play your best,” Roberts said. “We do have ball control and we like for our girls to play a few inches taller than they really are, and they have to play their positions and hold their own. We had all of our health issues occur during the off season, and all of the girls are back and in good health as strong if not stronger than before.”
Twin Valley South is now 5-0 overall, and 2-0 in the Cross County Conference. They were scheduled to play next on Tuesday, Sept. 6, at home against CCC foe Bradford. TVS is currently ranked 12th in the Area Volleyball Coaches Poll in Divisions 3-4, and is one of only two teams in the area which is unbeaten in the small schools (Jackson Center is 6-0 and No. 1.)
