The 2019 season is still young – but already the Jefferson High volleyball team has convincingly demonstrated two things. First, the Panthers are not (yet) playing to the standard of the squad that went undefeated in the regular season a year ago. But also: they’re a tough bunch.
The Panthers split two matches over Homecoming weekend. The first was a wild, five-set thriller with Townsend in front of a very loud and proud home crowd. Jefferson fell behind early, but worked their way to an 18-15 lead on two aces by Sam Zody, back to back kills by Dakota Edmisten, and another kill by older sister Mykala Edmisten. Townsend went on a 7-2 run to take a 22-20 lead, but the last five points – and a 25-22 game – went to the Panthers.
Games two and three didn’t go as well. The Panthers dropped the second, 10-25, after falling behind early. In the third, the gym itself came into play. Jefferson High’s gym features large ceiling beams that are beautiful – but not ideal for the sport of volleyball. Normally, it’s visiting teams that struggle with this architectural detail, but this time the Panthers had a hard time staying clear, helping to feed a 10-21 deficit. Jefferson came back with an 8-4 run that got the fans going, but Townsend prevailed for a 25-18 win.
Down 2 to 1, the Panthers knew they had to dig in. They began the fourth game with a 5-0 run, and blocks by Dakota Edmisten and Jaydn Bellander helped seal a 25-18 victory to even the match. Then came the tie-breaker Game 5, which is played to just 15 points. Mykala Edmisten opened the scoring with a kill, but the Bulldogs answered with an 8-1 run. Then came the Panthers with an amazing 10-2 run of their own – and suddenly they held a 13-11 lead that looked to be enough to close out the win. But Townsend tied the score at 13, took the lead off a net serve, and finally pulled off a 15-13 win.
The Panthers had 11 aces – four by Zody and three by Kylie Marks 3, who also recorded 9 blocks and 11 assists. Mykala Edmisten powered over 22 of the squad’s 39 kills, and Emma Grange led the team with four digs.
On Saturday night, the Panthers took on Sweet Grass County in their second conference counter of the week. In the first game, they raced to a 20-12 lead on two kills by Rachel Van Blaricom, a Dakota Edmisten tap, and a block point by Hope Dobyns – and they hung on for a 25-17 win. Game two saw the Herders go up 7-3, with one point coming on an out of rotation call on the Panthers. An ace serve by Aston Oxarart made it 8-7, but another Herder run put them up 17-10. The Panthers came back to tie the game at 18 – and after three more ties at 20,21 and 22, they finally closed out the game, 25-23.
Sweet Grass County started the third with 3 to 1 run and held a 7-4 lead. But then Panthers took over, with a kill and an ace by Dakota Edmisten feeding a 18-11 lead and then the game, 25-19, for a 3-0 match win.
Dakota Edmisten led the team with 3 aces and 8 kills. Dobyns registered all four of the Panthers’ blocks, and Grace Alexander accounted for 10 of the squad’s 26 digs. Marks, Grange and Ashton Oxarart each contributed two assists.
This week, the Lady Panthers host Whitehall on Thursday and travel to Livingston on Saturday.
