Jessieville sweeps Perryville

JESSIEVILLE — Jessieville picked up its first conference win Monday night at Jessieville Sports Arena where the Lady Lions swept Perryville.

The Lady Lions (2-4, 1-3 3A-Central) were able to stay focused for the entire night, a fact that head coach Jodi Castleberry said made the difference in the 25-9, 25-16, 25-14 win.

“We’re usually first- and second-set teams,” said Castleberry. “We always come out strong. We’ve had a tendency in the past to kind of get complacent and struggle in third and fourth sets, but tonight we really made it a point to stay focused and do things well in that third set. That third set was … we focused a lot on that.”

Junior Avery Branscum put Perryville (4-13, 2-4 3A-Central) on the board first with an ace in the first set but four straight assists from Jessieville senior Callie Pedersen along with kills from seniors Madison Cummings and Abigail Storment gave the Lady Lions a quick 5-1 lead, prompting Perryville head coach Jerry Johnson to call a timeout.

A kill from junior Mallory Hawkins followed by an ace from senior Abby Scott brought the Lady Mustangs within three points before Cummings set up junior Kallie Castleberry for a kill to lead the Lady Lions on a 6-0 run and broaden the spread to nine. It became apparent that Jessieville had found its rhythm, and three straight aces from junior Avery Jones pushed the Lady Lions out to a 17-7 lead as they went on to secure the 25-9 win.

Pedersen started behind the line for Jessieville in the second set and a powerful kill from Storment gave them the early momentum. Branscum led Perryville on a 2-0 spurt to give the team its first lead, though it would not last. Behind the service of junior Reagan Jones, Jessieville jumped out to a 9-5 lead.

The Lady Mustangs battled back to keep the match close, trailing 15-12 before Reagan Jones once again got behind the line. Jones served up six straight points, tallying two kills and an ace to put Jessieville out on top 24-13. Perryville served up a pair of points before Storment picked up a kill to win the set, 25-16.

Jessieville took an early 4-2 lead in the third set, and following through on what Castleberry stressed to them all week, the Lady Lions kept their focus and composure, stretching their lead out to 15-7 midway through the set. Reagan Jones and her twin sister Avery then led Jessieville on a 5-0 run for a 22-13 lead before Cummings secured the match-winning kill.

Johnson noted he has a very young team, and

his players will have to have a little patience before reaching their potential.

“They’re just better at passing and hitting,” he said of Jessieville. “We’re awfully young. We’ve got one girl that’s ever played a varsity match before this year. So we’re young, we’re learning, but, you know, you take your lumps sometimes, and that’s alright. Jessieville’s a good program, and we saw that tonight.”

Heading into the last part of the season and preparing for postseason play, Castleberry said she’s continuing to focus on simply “finishing games.”

“Like I said, we always come out strong and then we can get complacent,” she said. “And that’s been my focus, is for them to keep their intensity and finish just as strong as we started. I’m excited about district and the good possibility of state, though. I’m really excited, and I’m ready to start postseason.”

Reagan Jones had 11 kills, two aces and two blocks for the Lady Lions while Pedersen had 18 assists, two blocks, a kill and an ace, and Cummings had 8 kills, an assist and a block. Storment added 8 kills and an ace, Avery Jones had three kills, four aces and a block, and Castleberry had four kills with one assist.

For Perryville, Branscum finished with four assists, one ace and one dig, junior Mallory Hawkins had four kills, and senior Sydney Chambers had three kills. Senior Lauren Rudolph had two kills and a dig, senior Abby Scott had an ace, a kill and a block, and junior Emily Stebner had a kill and an ace.

• Jessieville also won the junior varsity match, 25-15, 25-23.

Allie James finished with seven kills, two aces, a block and a dig, Kallie Castleberry had four assists and a kill, and Danielle George had four kills. Rebekah George had three kills with one assist, Taylor Miller had two kills and an ace, and Ava Zetts had two kills, one assist and one ace.

Jessieville will host Cutter-Morning Star (8-5, 5-2 2A-Central) on Thursday.