Pirates rally to victory: Key win sets stage for Perryville Tournament

After nearly a month away from the win column, the Perryville volleyball team finally delivered at home with a straight-set win over North County (25-14, 25-13, 25-20) on Wednesday, Oct. 2, in Perryville.

"It felt like the girls are playing to their potential," Perryville head coach Elizabeth Meyr said. "Before, we had all the skills but we didn't have the communication or the energy. So finally they came around and put it all together and played a really good game."

This win came at an ideal time for the Pirates, as they are set to host the Perryville Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 5, which is held at both Perryville High School and the Perry Park Center.

"It's actually a crucial win for the rest of the season because there's not a whole lot of time left," Meyr said. "We have a goal on how many wins we want to hit, and in order to do that, we needed this one going into the tournament and then going into a lot of district games coming up."

The win snapped a 10-match winless stretch that started on Sept. 10 with a home loss vs. Leopold. The Pirates started the season by winning the Woodland Tournament and following that up with a straight-set win over Herculaneum at the home opener.

"I think they just got worn down, then they got emotionally run down, and we were trying to bring up their energy and spirits," Meyr said. "We've been trying to work through that. I think we finally crossed the path to continue on the streak that we should have been on all season."

Charli Gerler led the Pirates with nine kills, followed by eight kills from Ellie Gerler and seven from Paige Berkbigler, who also had 13 assists and eight digs. Allyson Burns led the Pirates with 17 assists.

Ellie Gerler, one of three seniors on the team, also had two blocks and is in hot pursuit of the school's single-season and career block records.

"She's on the path to hit the career blocks," Meyr said, "but we'll see how it shakes out."

Perryville's senior libero, Jewel Riney, had a team-high 10 digs and was credited with 13 perfect serve receive passes in her first game back from a knee injury. At one point, she ran into the bench while keeping the volley alive and was seemingly everywhere the ball was heading after a North County spike.

"We're happy to have her back," Meyr said.

The third senior, Maria Mattingly, had three blocks to tie with Lydia Schlimpert for the team lead.

"Maria's been super strong too," Meyr said. "She is hitting harder than she ever has, and she is putting up a lot of blocks tonight. In the first set, she had three blocks alone, so she's doing great. She's got a goal, and she's trying to hit it."

The Pirates went 2-1-1 during last year’s Perryville Tournament. This year, they will be in Pool C with Scott City, Doniphan, and Class 3 District 2 rival Fredericktown. A similar showing would bode well for their preparation for the C3D2 Tournament later in October.

"We would like to win all of our pool play games," Meyr said. "I think the girls have the potential to do that, but it depends on if they bring the energy and excitement to the court that day. Then hopefully we can meet some more district opponents in the tournament and move from there."

Games will be played from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., with bracket play beginning at 1:30 p.m. Pool A (Farmington, St. Vincent, Ellington, and Northwest) and Pool B (Windsor, Ste. Genevieve, Meadow Heights, and Clearwater) will play at the Perry Park Center. Pool C will be at Perryville High School and Pool D (Cape Central, Seckman, North County, and South Iron) will be at Perryville Middle School.

The top two teams in each pool will go to the eight-team single-elimination Gold Bracket at the Perry Park Center. The third-place team in each pool will go to the four-team single-elimination Silver Bracket at Perryville High School and the bottom team from each pool will finish in the Bronze Bracket at Perryville Middle School.