Jefferson High’s volleyball squad continued to power through its regular season schedule, with straight-sets victories last week over Ennis and Conrad.
In Ennis on Thursday, the Panthers set the tone early on with an 8-5 run.Two points by Ada Strauss made it 10-9, and Ryian Eveland notched two hard kills to put Jefferson up 18-11. Brooklyn Miller made it 22-16, Ryleigh Doherty’s kill kept the momentum going, then Eveland finished it off for a 25-20 win.
Ennis played tougher in the second set, leading 12-5 before the Panthers settled down. Jaida Jurenka’s ace brought Jefferson within 8-12 and started a run. Eveland’s block, followed by another hard kill, gave the Panthers a 16-14 lead, and Allison Zawacki’s points made it 24-14 before Eveland again put the game away with a slam.
The third game was smoother sailing: Aubrey Rosenbaum’s ace made it 6-1, and Eveland’s block widened the lead to 9-1. London Ostby made it 14-8, Gena Strozewski put over a kill, and the Panthers completed the sweep with a 25-14 win.
The girls had an easier time on Friday against Conrad. They took the first two sets 25-10 and 25-4. With a lot of younger Panthers taking over, Jefferson took the third game, 25-21, for the sweep.
Then, it was up to Choteau for the Bulldogs’ annual tournament. The Panthers took the championship there, beating Belt, a strong Class C school, twice and downing Choteau in five sets. Jefferson’s JV and C teams also won their respective titles.
Jefferson is now 5-1 in conference play, second to 5-0 Broadwater, who they’ll take on at home Oct. 9. This week, the JV squad faces Lone Peak at home Thursday at 5:30 p.m., while the C team takes on Sheridan at 4:00 p.m. On Saturday, the Panthers host the big Jefferson High tournament, starting at 9 a.m.
About midway through the season, Eveland leads the team in kills, with 60, and blocks, 18.5. Strauss has 56 blocks. Hannah Stevens has notched 95 assists and 70 digs, while Maia Walters has 89 digs. Rosenbaum has 57 digs and 26 assists, and Jurenka has 48 digs and a team-leading 5 aces.
Football
The Panther football team traveled to Red Lodge Friday for its match-up with Baker. This was a nice gesture by Red Lodge, providing a site about halfway along the 456-mile trip between Jefferson and Fallon Counties.
Years ago, the Panthers traveled to Baker two years in a row to play the first round of the playoffs, and Baker won both those games. This year it was Jefferson’s turn: The teams were tied at 14 at the half, but the Panthers held the Spartans scoreless from there on to take a 28-14 win. No stats were received by press time.
This week the football team travels to Broadwater for a 7 p.m. start. And the cross country squads compete Friday in Three Forks.
