Jr. High Round-Up

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ The Pinckneyville (Jr. High School) Panther Varsity Volleyball team recently reached its mid-season with a 10-3 record.

They started the season with a win at Tamaroa with 25-9 and 25-16.

Shersty Stanton (8th grade) pounded 19 points serving, had five attacks, three kills and came up with three digs from the back row.

Also showing some power were 7th graders Danielle Bruns with three attacks and two kills and Gabby Doerflein with 11 serving points.

Sarah Carlson (8th grader) had five assists, while Kala Emling (7th grader) dished up eight assists and seven successful serves.

Pinckneyville traveled to Sparta to pick up their second win with 25-16 and 25-21.

The Jr. Panthers were again strong at the serving line. Danielle Bruns served for 16 points, dropping in three aces.

Emling helped out with nine points and two aces. Stanton and Carlson combined for 15 points. The team had a total of 28 attacks and nine kills.

The Jr. Panthers received their first loss from Du Quoin in two tough games, 18-25 and 14-25.

Emling led Pinckneyville with 10 strong serves and three aces.

Denise and Danielle Bruns combined for six points and Stanton and Carlson combined for five points.

A close match at Trico gave the Jr. Panthers their second loss of the season with 21-25 and 20-25.

Pinckneyville finally played at home, defeating Nashville 25-19 and 15-9.

The Jr. Panthers came out swinging with a team total of 23 attacks, seven kills and seven aces.

Next was Murphysboro and the Jr. Panthers came out on top, 26-24 and 25-17. Pinckneyville was led by Katelyn Mayer and Doerflein with 11 service points each.

Stanton landed nine serves, four attacks and one kill, while twin sisters, Danielle and Denise Bruns, served for 10 points, eight attacks and three kills combined. Setters Carlson and Emling dished up 12 assists each.

The Jr. Panthers went back on the road to Chester and brought another victory, 25-20 and 25-23, improving their record to 6-2.

Strong serves again paid off for the team.

Stanton led with 14 serves, Mayer had nine serves and two aces and Emling had nine serves with three aces.

Logan Queen and Carlson each had seven service points.

Danielle Bruns handed out 23 attacks and four kills to dominate at the net.

On Saturday, February 21, the Jr. Panthers played in the St. Bruno Tournament for the first time. It was a full day of volleyball for the Pinckneyville fans.

The Jr. Panthers took down Tamaroa in their first match, 25-14 and 25-10.

Leah Hopp (7th grader) served up 17 points followed by Mayer with 11 points. Match two was against host team St. Bruno with the Jr. Panthers on the winning end, 25-6 and 25-14.

Emling and Mayer had a combined 26 serving points for the Jr. Panthers.

The Jr. Panthers came back from a long midday bread to take control of the 204 Tigers, 22-25, 25-22 and 25-19, dominating at the net with a team total of 32 attacks and 12 kills for the win over their cross-town rivals.

The last match of the day was also the most exciting volleyball to watch.

Though the Jr. Panthers came up short, it was three very hard fought games, 20-25, 25-23 and 21-25.

The Eagles clawed their way to a victory. Pinckneyville gave up 11 serving errors.

This left a three-way tie for first place between the Coulterville Eagles, 204 Tigers and Pinckneyville Jr. Panthers, forcing the tie-breaking decision of total points allowed by each of the three teams.

The #204 Tigers came out on top by one point, giving them the trophy.

The Jr. Panthers came back on Monday with something to prove when the 204 Tigers visited the Panthers for the two teams' second matchup.

Again, the Jr. Panthers defeated # 204, this time in two games, 25-19 and 25-20. Stanton took control at the net wit 17 attacks and five kills.

Not far behind was Danielle Bruns adding 10 attacks and four kills.

Denise Bruns and Mayer knocked down three kills each.

Carlson dished up 12 sets for assists while Emling pitched in 19 assists.

The Jr. Panthers had a combined 10 aces in the match.

PJHS will begin Class M Regional Tournament play the week of March 17-23 against Nashville, Sesser-Valier and Marissa.

The state finals are slated for Saturday, March 28 at Nashville High School's Assembly Hall.

-Story submitted