The Bolivar and Pleasant Hope varsity volleyball teams are a month into their 2021-22 seasons, and both have been racking up more wins than losses. With one team including ties in its record and the other reaching double digits in wins, both continue to fight each week, bettering their records.
Bolivar
The Bolivar High School team has done well with its “next ball” mentality, according to coach Kyle Smith.
The players have chosen to not give up, he said. In result, the team rests at an overall record of 9-7-3 — wins-losses-ties, respectively.
And, according to Smith, ”the potential for where this team could be at the end of the season is limitless.”
He described the Bolivar team as “scrappy” and relentless in its pursuits for the victory.
On this unrelenting team, there is Rachel Carr, a senior who “has been a key player, racking up stats and putting opponents in all kinds of trouble from the service line and attacking in the front row.”
Carr has a total of 35 aces up her sleeve, the most on the team. The same can be said for her .272 hitting percentage. She ranks third in kills.
Also, Smith said, she is state ranked at third for class 4 in aces per set and fourth in total aces.
Grace Hampton and Allison Butler, he added, have together racked up a combined total of 173 digs so far this season.
They have also been “an incredible senior presence on the court,” Smith said.
Junior Cora Roweton plays in the middle of their side of the court. While there, she “has added some layers to her game as a back-row attacker and aggressive server this year,” he said.
Leading the team with 95 kills, Roweton has dealt her hand of 14 aces, the third highest number on the team.
Similar to Carr, she is state-ranked sixth in class 4, her team-leading blocks — 35 in total — earning her that rank.
The only freshman on the team, Megan Howard, “has had a huge impact on our team this year,” Smith said.
In between Carr and Roweton, Howard ranks second on the team with her 23 aces, 12 blocks, 78 digs and 125 assists.
Leading in assists with 131, junior Elliana Partin has grown with Howard “into the setting position,” Smith said.
Both, he added, are also “doing a great job running our offense.”
One player leading in stats, though, “does not compare to the contribution of every single athlete on our team and in our program,” he said.
“The energy they bring to the game and to each other makes them exciting to coach and watch,” he added.
Bolivar’s volleyball season started at Osceola on Tuesday, Aug. 31. The Liberators put up a fight, winning each set 25-15, 25-13 and 25-20, finishing 3-0 in their first game of the season.
The girls kept up a winning streak for four weeks in a row, until they came up against Rolla on Thursday, Sept. 16. They lost each set 22-25, 23-25 and 19-25, totaling a 0-3 loss to the Bulldogs.
Then the Liberators went head-to-head against four other schools at the Buffalo Lady Bison Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 18.
It was there that Bolivar notched not one but two ties to its belt, both 1-1, against Ash Grove and Conway.
They lost against Hallsville 0-2 but flipped the score against Buffalo and won 2-0.
The wins and losses went back and forth for several matches in the following weeks, but the girls picked up another tie at the Stockton Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 2. They got it from a 1-1 score against Hillcrest.
Also at the tournament, Bolivar racked up two losses, and one was against El Dorado Springs 0-2. The other was against Stockton in one of their two matches with the team, finishing 0-2 there, as well.
However, the girls also scored three wins that day. They had a 2-0 win against Liberal, a 2-1 win against Sarcoxie and a 2-1 win in their second match against Stockton.
“I am so grateful for my seniors and what they have done to not only have a great senior season,” Smith said, “but (also) leave an amazing legacy of ‘next ball’ mentality and a positive atmosphere for generations to come.”
Bolivar hits the road on Thursday, Oct. 7, for a game against Glendale, starting at 7 p.m.
Pleasant Hope
Pleasant Hope High School has a surpassing number of wins this season, as the team currently rests at a 13-4 overall record.
According to coach Britany Cheek, Jianna Halbrook and Abbey Swearengen are leading the team in kills.
Overall, though, the team has improved its defense and team work, leading to their wins, Cheek added.
The girls started their season at Everton on Tuesday, Aug. 31. While there, the team finished with a 3-0 win, scoring the sets with 25-20, 25-17 and 25-11.
Pleasant Hope’s loss to New Covenant Academy on Thursday, Sept. 2, was the first — and last — loss for several following matches. The team lost 1-3 overall, finishing the sets with 24-26, 23-25, 25-19 and 22-25.
The girls won a couple more games, and then came the Patriot Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 11, at the School of the Ozarks Tournament.
They came at each team “without dropping a set,” Cheek said, winning 2-0 in every single match.
The three following games, however, were all losses.
The team lost 2-3 at Pierce City, 0-3 against Stockton and 0-3 at Miller.
The girls turned the streak around, though, with two 3-0 wins over Greenfield and Sheldon and 3-1 wins over Sarcoxie and Diamond.
Pleasant Hope has its next home game against Marionville at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7.
