HS Volleyball: Adna Opens Up New Season With Sweep of Montesano

9/12/23

Adna 3, Montesano 0 (25-21, 25-17, 26-24)

(Adna, WA) A late start to their season didn’t stop the Adna Pirates from having early success when they hosted the Montesano Bulldogs on Tuesday night. Both teams are coming off trips to their respective state tournaments as Adna took home 5th place in 2022’s 2B tournament while Montesano fell in the first round of the 1A tournament. Montesano came into the showdown coming off their first win of the season with a sweep of Rochester while Adna was opening up their season. It was a successful opener for the Pirates as they had to fight off a very feisty Bulldog squad as Adna took the match with a sweep of Montesano.

Adna was extremely impressive from the service line as they notched 24 aces in the match and Charissa Schierman had quite a few of them in the first set. The lone senior for Adna was money from the service line as she began serving with a 5-4 advantage for Adna and after four consecutive aces, Adna had widened their lead. Gaby Guard set the tone at the net with some great assists for Schierman, Karsyn Freeman, and Danika Hallom. Montesano would not go down without a fight in the first set. Kaila Hatton had a strong match but was really willing her team to a late charge in the opening set. Bentley Warne was fantastic on the backline for the Bulldogs, but the strong start for Adna was too much to overcome. Montesano had a great run, but Danika Hallom finished up the first set with a big kill to give Adna the 25-21 win.

Set number two was very back and forth for most of it. Karissa Otterstetter had fully worked her way into the feel of the match for Montesano as Hatton continued to be a force. Olivia Robinson also got going all over the court for the Bulldogs as Jillie Dalan began to dominate at the net for Monte. Adna was able to get Kendall Humphrey going at the net to add another weapon to their already potent offense. Adna got their chance to serve with a 20-17 advantage with Gaby Guard headed to the service line. The junior would serve five consecutive points, including three aces to not only earn the Better Homes & Garden Takin’ it to the House Play of the Game, but also took Adna to a 25-17 set victory and set the Pirates up for a sweep opportunity.

Things were getting out of hand early in the third set for Montesano. Adna jumped out to a 9-0 lead immediately in the set and had Montesano reeling. The Bulldogs would then dig deep to show how much fight they truly have. Montesano began to chip away at their deficit but it was the lone Bulldog senior that helped Montesano pull within striking distance. Kristina Wallace came into serve and pulled the Bulldogs to within four points of Adna. Kylee Wisdom added a strong run from the service line as well as Montesano came all the way back to take a 24-23 lead. Adna would even it up at 24-24 and then the senior stepped up. Charissa Schierman had back-to-back assists to Kendall Humphrey and Danika Hallom to fend off the late Montesano rally to give Adna the final set 26-24, and the 3-0 sweep.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game was Adna’s Charissa Schierman. The senior did it all, from the service line to being one of the top setters in the match, to also controlling the match at the net. The senior showed that she is a leader for the Pirates and she will fill whatever role her team needs from her. Schierman finished with seven kills, six assists, four aces, and two blocks.

Adna begins their season with the win and move to 1-0 in the early stages of the season. Next up for the Pirates, they will visit Mossyrock (1-1) on Thursday at 7pm to take on the Vikings. Montesano (1-3), who showed absolutely outstanding heart and fight in this one, will try to bounce back when they take the court on Thursday at 7pm as well. The Bulldogs will host Seton Catholic (3-0) in a District 4 1A showdown.