The P.K. Yonge volleyball team brought “intensity, grit, and attitude” in its home opener against Santa Fe (Alachua).
However, the Raiders (8-3), who are ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by MaxPreps, took advantage of P.K. Yonge’s unforced errors in the first and third sets to sweep the Lady Blue Wave, 25-15, 25-20, 25-12.
“Tonight, I think we missed a total of 13 serves throughout the three games, but if we would have had less unforced errors in the first and third sets we would have stayed with them,” said P.K. Yonge co-head coach Chancie Vice. “A couple of little fixes that we need to work on technically, I could have seen us going to five or at least taking a set from them, so overall I’m very, very proud of our girls.”
P.K. Yonge (1-7) only has one senior and starts a seventh-grader and an eighth-grader.
“I’m definitely proud of the team to see a young team execute the game plan that you’ve practiced and prepared for all week and it says a lot about how focused they are and how driven they are to win and I’m excited to continue the season,” said P.K. Yonge co-head coach Enrique Wiseman. “We are improving every single night so I’m looking forward to the future.”
In the opening set, freshman Jada Adderly blocked University of Iowa commit Gia McGrew’s kill attempt and sent it to the other end of the floor and just inside the back line to bring the Blue Wave within five at 13-8.
“This is Jada’s first time actually playing competitive volleyball,” Vice said. “She was in middle school last year, so this is her first time getting proper coaching. She didn’t play club, so this is really like her first time getting technical coaching for volleyball and she plays basketball, so she already has that physical mentality.”
Each time P.K. Yonge seized momentum, they gave it right back.
A service error made it 14-8 and, following a kill by P.K. Yonge seventh-grader Holdyn Moore to close the gap to 14-9, Santa Fe pulled away as the Blue Wave committed a total of 13 errors which led to eight of Santa Fe’s final nine points in the first set.
In the second set, P.K. Yonge went on a 5-0 run, including a pair of kills by sophomore Jaylee Fugate and a kill and an ace by Moore to take an 11-8 lead.
“I thought they out served us and out serve received us,” said Santa Fe coach Eric Marshall. “So, they stayed in system. They’ve got a couple of players that can really bang it in Ajha (Graddy) and Holdyn (Moore) and they were getting the ball to them consistently. Those are pretty elite players. That wasn’t my concern. My concern was they were serving tougher than we were and their serve receive was better than ours and their energy was twice what ours was.”
Santa Fe junior Delaney Wingenbach’s (7 kills, 2 blocks) backline kill tied the second set at 11-11 and an ace by sophomore Karlee Noah (7 digs) gave the Raiders a 12-11 advantage.
P.K. Yonge tied the set at 14-14 on a kill by Grady, but the Raiders scored six of the next seven points and took their biggest lead at 20-16 following three kills during the run by McGrew (10 kills).
“I was really proud of our girls,” said Vice. “That was some of the best serve receive and defense that we have played. They really went in it with a mindset of knowing how much of a big hitter Gia McGrew is and she really didn’t do much damage to us at all tonight. We blocked her a few times, we dug her several times, their middles really scored on us mostly.”
Wingenbach, who had a pair of kills to give Santa Fe a 5-0 lead to start the third set, is more of an outside hitter but she provided the scoring from inside.
“It’s unfortunate because she doesn’t play middle but she’s being forced to play middle for us because we don’t have another middle, so she’s completely out of position and she’s only been in that position now for four days,” Marshall said. “The Rock was kind of her first go at it and she was willing to do it, no complaining, no nothing, but she’s way out of position. It’s a completely different swing and she has to block the whole net. It’s learning in progress for her.”
Marshall’s daughter, Gracyn, had a big night.
The University of West Florida commit had one of her three aces to help spark a 6-0 run and finished with 17 assists, 10 digs, and 14 service points.
“They were tipping the ball her way, which they do to take the setter out and is a smart play for them, but that’s kind of her thing,” Marshall said. “She’s really good at picking up those balls and then her serve came back, especially in that last set. She was really hitting the mark and then they finally started struggling in serve/receive in the third set.”
Santa Fe will host Newberry at 7 p.m. on Monday night. The Panthers (7-2) defeated Dixie County (Cross City) in five sets on Thursday night.
P.K. Yonge will play Buchholz, Columbia (Lake City) and Oak Hall on Saturday at the Oak Hall Tournament.
Volleyball scores – Thursday, Sept. 5
Lafayette (Mayo) 3, Suwannee (Live Oak) 2
Newberry 3, Dixie County (Cross City) 2
Santa Fe (Alachua) 3, P.K. Yonge 0
The Rock 3, GHS 0
Trenton 3, Bronson 0
