Volleyball Roundup: Area teams dive into a new season

Portageville started its season with a 3-1 victory at Gideon (1-1) on Friday, August 25, winning with set scores of 13-25, 25-10, 25-22 and 25-22.

Jayla Weddington led the team with an impressive performance, contributing 12 kills, three blocks and two digs. Ja’Niya Smith showcased her skills with 14 digs, 11 kills, four assists, two blocks and an ace.

Laney Stone provided solid defense with 25 digs, along with seven kills and two aces.

Portageville's Laney Stone (24) serves�during the Portageville Volleyball Jamboree on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.�Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat

“It was a team effort,” said Portageville coach Sasha Kellams. “[Weddington and Smith] led our team. [Stone] had some great plays defensively. Overall, the team had a great night. We started out rocky in the firsts et, but everything clicked once we got it together.”

Other contributors include Bryleigh Adams (seven digs, five kills and an ace), Aaliyah Larry (seven assists, four digs and two kills), Glo Farmer (12 digs, two kills, two assists, an ace and a block), Mia Scherer (19 assists, five digs and two aces) and Liza Priggel (four assists and one dig).

The Lady Bulldogs (2-1) continued the strong start to the season with a 3-1 win over Campbell (0-2) on Monday, August 28.

Portageville's Mia Sherer (20) serves�during the Portageville Volleyball Jamboree on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.�Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat

Portageville won with set scores of 21-25, 25-9, 25-10 and 25-10.

Weddington had another standout game, recording 13 kills, four digs, two blocks and an assist, while Smith finished with 14 digs, seven aces, five kills and a block.

Stone added 17 digs, 10 kills and one assist.

“[Weddington] continued to shine last night,” Kellams said. “[Weddington and Stone] are showing tremendous growth from last season, and I know they’ll continue to get better. We came out once again really rocky in the first set. Whenever we play our ball game, the sky’s the limit. Each of my girls has so much God-given talent, and my younger ones are growing in their confidence with each game. It’s exciting to see. I look forward to the season with this bunch of girls. They are a fun group, and they pick each other up during the difficult times.

Other contributors were: Adams (six digs, three digs, two aces and one kill), Larry (10 assists and two aces), Farmer (eight digs and six kills), Scherer (24 assists, seven digs and three aces), Liza Priggel (two kills and one digs) and Lily Beth Priggel (one kill).

NMCC's Destiny Hughes (11) serves�during the Portageville Volleyball Jamboree on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.�Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat

Portageville faced a tough battle against Senath-Hornersville (3-0) on Tuesday, August 29, ultimately losing 3-2.

Smith led the team with 17 digs, seven kills, three aces, two blocks and an assist, while Stone provided solid defense with 25 digs, nine kills, an ace and an assist.

Scherer displayed her talents with 27 assists, 10 digs, a kill and an ace, and Farmer made contributions with 11 kills, 10 digs, and an assist.

Other notable performances came from: Adams (15 digs, four kills and an ace), Weddington (eight kills, seven digs and an assist), Larry (14 assists, nine digs and two kills), Lily Beth Priggel (three digs, two blocks and an assist), Liza Priggel (four kills) and Taryn Irby (one dig).

NMCC's JoeBeth Riley (4) warms up�during the Portageville Volleyball Jamboree on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.�Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat

__New Madrid County Central__

The Lady Eagles (2-0) had a strong start to the season, securing a 3-0 win at Caruthersville (0-2) on Monday, August 28. NMCC continued their winning ways with another impressive 3-0 win over Twin Rivers (1-1) on Tuesday, August 29.

“We played well against Caruthersville,” said NMCC coach Rae Jean Roach. “We need to work on a few things but overall we putting things together. The Twin Rivers game was slow. We just didn’t find our grove, however, we didn’t play bad just needed to learn to keep our grove and play our game.”

East Prairie's Lydia Valencia (14) serves�during the Portageville Volleyball Jamboree on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.�Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat

__East Prairie__

Opening the season on a high note, the Lady Eagles (1-1) emerged with a 3-0 sweep over North Pemiscot (1-2) on Monday, August 28.

East Prairie’s top performers were Jerzey Vinson and Olivia Hayes. Vinson finished with 10 digs, eight kills, five aces and three assists, while Hayes had 10 digs, nine assists, five aces and a kill.

Other contributors were: Lydia Valencia (five digs, three kills, two blocks and two aces), Alison Miller (seven digs, two assists and two kills), Maryn Grissom (five digs and one assist), Remi Cade (three aces, two digs, two blocks and a kill), Brooklyn Irby (two digs), Kylee Gilliam (three assists, two kills, one dig and an ace) and Sydney Aycock (three kills and three aces).

East Prairie's Jerzey Vinson (28) gets a dig�during the Portageville Volleyball Jamboree on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.�Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat

However, the team suffered a 3-1 setback to Doniphan (1-0) on Tuesday, August 29.

“We have three underclassmen starters and we held our own against Doniphan's senior-heavy roster,” Goodding said.

__Oran__

The Lady Eagles (0-2) started the season with a 3-0 loss to Kennett (2-0) on Monday, August 28. However, Oran showed improvement and followed that up with a more competitive 3-2 loss to Risco (2-0) on Tuesday, August 29.

__Charleston__

The Lady Bluejays (0-1) began their season with a 3-1 loss to Egyptian High School (Ill.) on Tuesday, August 29.