Pioneer Patriots take out Rams in three sets
Tuesday night’s matchup improved the Patriots record to 2-0 in league play after defeating Mesa Verde.
While the Pioneer Patriots varsity volleyball team may have won their match against Dixon in three straight sets by the scores of 25-22, 25-16, and 25-23, the Golden Empire League clash was by no means an easy game.
Tuesday night’s matchup improved the Patriots record to 2-0 in league play after defeating Mesa Verde back on May 4, three sets to one.
In the first set, the Patriots raced out to an early 19-10 lead and looked to wrap up the match right away. Dixon had other plans and immediately ripped off a mini 5-1 run to close the lead to 20-15 before Chloe Kershner got an emphatic kill to end the run and restore some order for the Patriots.
Kershner filled out the stat sheet and finished the match with seven kills, two blocks, four aces, and three digs.
Only three points away, and with a 21-15 lead, the Patriots looked to wrap up the first set, but again, the Rams kept chipping away.
The Patriots would make the score 24-18 before another Dixon run got the Rams to within two points down 24-22.
Sensing some mistakes, Pioneer head coach Dana Anglin called a timeout.
“I said reduce the passing and hitting errors and let’s attack,” Anglin said. “Use you’re arsenal and find a way to keep the ball in.”
Immediately after the break, Kershner again spiked the ball home for a huge kill to end the first set.
The second set was more even from the start as Dixon looked to capitalize on some momentum they mustered up during their late rally. At one point, Dixon even took a slim 7-6 lead.
They’d tie up at nine before later finding themselves down by just one late when the score was 17-16. From there, however, the Patriots took the closeness of the set personally and pulled away with a nine to nothing run to close out the second period.
In those five or so minutes, the five pioneer seniors on the team showed the composure needed to their younger teammates.
In the final set, with the score at 19-13 in favor of Pioneer, the Patriots once again found it hard to close the match out. While Dixon put up a proper fight, it felt as if Pioneer conserved their energy waiting for Dixon to appear vulnerable.
What kept Dixon in the match after falling behind so far in both the first and third sets?
“Unforced errors,” Anglin said with a laugh. “We had eight hitting errors in
the first set and two miss serves, so that is ten points right there. They could have gone either way. I have thankfully five seniors on the floor, so they have a little bit more experience and more composure than the young kids.”
Dixon would get to within two points of Pioneer, who were on the brink of wrapping up the match. With the score at 24-23 and a fourth set looking more and more likely, the Pats were able to force a Dixon error and escape with the three-set sweep.
Cami Tommeraason had nine kills on the night to go with a block, one ace, and a tied a team-high with eight digs. Her sister Cori Tommeraason finished with a team-high 11 kills, one block, and eight digs.
Madison Lloyd set up teammates all night, racking up 30 assists while also serving up two aces and eight digs.
With a 2-0 record in the GEL, the Patriots will hit the road for a road clash against Mira Loma on Thursday. While the season is undoubtedly different than a regular fall season, all the goals for the Patriots remain the same as they would in a normal year.
“League championship, hopefully get a league MVP player, and a bunch of all league kids,” Anglin said.