Volleyball team beats Nampa Christian for 2-1 record

Weiser hosted the visiting Nampa Christian Trojans last week in a non-conference pairing at Tom Falash Gymnasium.  
 Despite some difficulties early in the match, The Lady Wolverines bested the Trojans in five sets (23-25, 25-15, 25-15, 19-25, and 15-8), increasing their early season record to 2-1.
 Weiser kept the first set close with scrappy play and strong serving, trading points and keeping the set to within a two-point difference the entire pairing.  
 However, tied at 23-23, the Trojans managed a kill, which resulted in a time-out by Wolverine head coach, Lindsay Grant. Hoping to break the Trojan momentum, the time-out strategy was unsuccessful, and the Trojans found a gap in the Wolverine defense with a well-placed tip and ended the first set in favor of the Trojans, 23-25.
 The gap between the first and second set, the Lady Wolverines regrouped and came inspired.  Sophomore, Abi Wilkins, started the Lady Wolverines off with a 6-1 scoring run from behind the service line. A side out by the Trojans gave them an offensive opportunity, but Danica Lockett recorded a kill from the back row, halting their chances.  
 Mattie Shirts continued the Wolverine scoring run from the service line, aided by a stuff block by Whitney Cordes and a pair of hard kills from freshman, Paisley Noyer, and Jasi Yraguen.  
 By the time the Trojans were awarded a side-out from an out-of-bounds Wolverine hit, the Lady Wolverines had taken a commanding 11-2 lead.  They continued to work for every live ball and keep what seemed like un-playable passes alive, never letting down their guard.
 Weiser maintained a comfortable lead for most of the set, and with a 15-11 lead, Lockett began serving for the Wolverines.
 A hard kill by Cordes, a sneaky dump on the second contact by Lockett, and a tip kill of an overfed pass by Mattie Shirts, pulled the Wolverines ahead 18-11.  
 The Trojans managed a pair of points on ball handling errors by the Wolverines, but when sophomore, Abi Wilkins, began serving for the Wolverines, she was impressive.  
 In her six-serve time behind the line, Wilkins recorded three aces and Shirts had a big stuff block to give the Wolverines what proved to be an insurmountable 24-13 lead.  
 The Trojans were able to gain two more points before the conclusion of the set, but a tip kill from Shirts ended the set in favor of the Wolverines, 25-15.
 Weiser started out strong in the third set to take a 3-0 lead with aggressive play on every ball, but the Trojans soon rallied back to take the lead.
 A kill from Cordes tied the set at 6-6 and started the Wolverines on a 12-1 scoring run. The Wolverines capitalized on every Trojan error and Shirts served for six points, recording one ace, while Wilkins also served for six-points, with three aces.  
 Leading 18-7, a streak of uncharacteristically messy play by the Wolverines allowed the Trojans to close the scoring gap at 12-19, but the Wolverines rallied back with a kill from Shirts, a collaborative stuff block between Shirts and Cordes, and a solo stuff block for Shirts, giving the Wolverines a 24-15 lead. Noyer capped the third set win with a free-ball kill and the 25-15 win.
 The fourth set of the match was critical for the Trojans, as they stared at a 1-2 set deficit to the Lady Wolverines. The Trojans took an early 1-4 lead, but two Wolverine kills and strong defense pulled the Lady Wolverines back into the set, tying it at 6-6.  
 Strong serving and a pair of aces by Yraguen kept the Lady Wolverines tied at the 9-9 mark, but several long rallies that ended in Trojan points gave the visitors a 14-9 lead over the Wolverines.  
 Despite some strong serving and big blocks by the Wolverines, they just couldn’t find their way back into the lead and were soon trailing 17-21.
 An ace serve from Cordes, a tip kill from Yraguen, and a pair of Trojan errors put the Wolverines within striking distance, but a Wolverine service error and back-to-back tip kills by the Tojans enabled Nampa Christian to take the fourth set 25-19 and tie the match 2-2.
 The tie-breaker match to 15-points was all Wolverines from the very beginning.  
 An ace serve from Lockett and a pair of kills by Wilkins gave the Wolverines an early 2-0 lead.  
 With Wilkins behind the service line, she added another ace to her credit, while Noyer had a kill and a stuff block.  
 By the time the Trojans could stop Wilkins serving with a kill, the Wolverines had taken a comfortable 7-1 lead over the Trojans.  
 A five-second service violation on the Trojans placed the ball back on the Wolverine side in the hands of Shirts, who recorded another ace to give the Wolverines a 9-2 lead.  
 Although Noyer added another kill to her stats, the Wolverines struggled for a bit, allowing the Trojans a 5-2 scoring run, prompting a Weiser time-out.  
 After the break in play, Yraguen came out with a big kill from the middle, while Wilkins and Shirts both found gaps in the Trojan defense with well-placed tip kills, to take the set 15-8 and the match 3-2.
 The Lady Wolverines will travel to Baker City, Ore. and to a tournament in Jerome this week.  The junior varsity squad of the Lady Wolverines will host a JV tournament on Sept. 11 at Weiser High School.
Weiser beats Melba:
 On Aug. 31, the Lady Wolverines traveled to Melba for a non-league pairing against the Mustangs. The Wolverines had hoped to add to their win column and begin a winning streak following their first game victory over the Vale Vikings. However, despite a hard-fought four-set battle, the Wolverines came up short, dropping the match 20-25, 25-15, 16-25 and 17-25.
 Mattie Shirts led the team with seven aces and three blocks, while Abi Wilkins recorded 14 digs and five kills. Danica Lockett also had five kills and 16 digs on the evening.