Unbeaten North Pemiscot volleyball team wins three-set battle against Senath-Hornersville

WARDELL, Mo. - The undefeated North Pemiscot Mustangs varsity volleyball team finally received the test it was looking for from the Senath-Hornersville Lions last Thursday night.

Senath-Hornersville dropped the first set 20-25 but managed to take the second set 25-19 and become only the second team this season to force a third set against North Pemiscot.

North Pemiscot scored the first six points and the final five points of the third set as it secured a 25-20, 19-25, 25-17 home victory against Senath-Hornersville.

“This was definitely our toughest test of the season so far,” North Pemiscot volleyball coach Alex Heeb said. “It was the second third set we had played this season. We got in unchartered territory and found a way to respond, so I’m really proud of our girls’ effort tonight.”

The Mustangs jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the decisive set before Senath-Hornersville eventually rallied to take its only third-set lead at 13-12. North Pemiscot followed with the next four points to move back ahead 16-13 in a scoring sequence that included a pair of ace serves from Kaylee Davis.

A kill by Senath-Hornersville’s Madi Shrum cut the deficit as close as 18-16 but North Pemiscot followed with a 7-1 run to end the three-set affair.

“We are disappointed in the loss but we did a lot of good things that we’ve been working on in practice,” Senath-Hornersville volleyball coach Chelsey Vincent said. “We had a total of 12 kills tonight, which is more than we’ve been getting in games. We also moved better tonight defensively. Even though it was a loss, I’m proud they were able to improve upon things we’ve been working on. Hopefully by the end of the season the work will pay off in district and conference games.”

North Pemiscot jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the first set. Kayla Kuehler calculated four of her teams first 12 points on a pair of aces and kills.

“She’s probably one of the better hitters in the area,” Heeb said. “I think both of our outside hitters, and even our middle hitters, are some of the strongest among the teams we’ve played. But when we set Kayla we feel like we are going to put a point on the board.”

Senath-Hornersville eventually caught North Pemiscot when it tied things up at 14-14. The first set was tied at 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 before the Mustangs calculated the final five points to take the first set.

“When we get close to the finish line we try to push hard,” Heeb said. “I think they did a good job of finishing in the first set tonight.”

The second set was tied 10-10 before the Lions racked off six straight points to move ahead 16-10. North Pemiscot cut the deficit as close as 22-19 but Senath-Hornersville followed with the next three points to force a third set.

“They got in a groove and we got more sets to some of our stronger hitters,” Vincent said of the second set.

Kuehler recorded 10 kills and four ace serves for the Mustangs. Hailey McGowan added four kills and three ace serves for North Pemiscot.

Shrum paced Senath-Hornersville’s offense with six kills and three blocks. Marianna Reyes and Maria Castillo both tallied three assists for the Lions.

Senath-Hornersville (4-3) is slated to compete in 52-team two-day Dig for Life Challenge that concludes Saturday at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.

“We’ve got some good matchups up there,” Vincent said.

North Pemiscot (8-0) is back in action Monday when it visits Delta C-7.

“I’m glad we are winning,” Heeb said. “Tonight was definitely our biggest test and it was good to see what we looked like against a team that made us earn everything we got. I’m proud of where we are at right now but I definitely see some things we need to get better at.”