By Staff for www.mcpherson-county-ks.com

            MCPHERSON – The McPherson Middle School seventh-grade volleyball teams made a complete sweep at home on Monday of matches with Salina Lakewood and Newton.

            “A” TEAM – In the ‘A’ team matches, the Junior Lady Pups buried Salina Lakewood in straight sets, scoring wins of 25-4 and 25-6.

            “Our first two servers, Jersey Alexander and Kennedy Bonham served most of the match and we were unable to get through a full rotation in either set,” pointed out head coach Shelley Bohme.

            In the second match with Newton, McPherson lost the first set 22-25 before bouncing back to win sets two and three 25-18, 15-11 for the clean sweep of the day.

            Coach Bohme concluded her post-match reflections by adding, “The Newton match was definitely the highlight of the night. We had to battle against Newton after dropping set one due to unforced errors, but we had a great crowd and found the energy. Amarie Lowery had the hot serving hand in set two and Karlie Cooper strung some serves together in the third set. Jersey (Alexander), Amarie, and Krysten Fenstermaker did a nice job of passing the ball to our setters and Kennedy (Bonham), Amarie, and Allison Randa set up our hitters multiple times. Ellie Herrera, Kennedy, and Karlie were aggressive at the net and Amarie had some amazing hustle plays and saves. Ellie improved on her serving tonight, after struggling the past few matches. It is fun to see it all coming together as the girls continue to learn and improve.”

            Now 6-2 for the season, the seventh-grade Junior Lady Pups will go on the road Tuesday for a triangular at Emporia with Emporia and Salina South.

            “B” TEAM RESULTS – Like the ‘A’ team, the seventh grade ‘B’ team swept both matches though each match was much closer overall.

            After scoring a 25-17, 25-21 win over Salina Lakewood, the ‘B’ team took care of Newton, winning 30-28, 25-16.

            “Tonight, the girls played very well,” said ‘B’ team coach Katherine Cooper. “They had high energy and beat both teams in straight sets. We had some great teamwork. The girls set up the ball several times and were able to get a few good hits in. Every girl that served, got at least one ace! I am very proud of the girls and the progress they are making.”

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)