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Demond has 13 kills, Shaffer adds 6 aces, 11 digs
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Keirsten Nies Laylah Demond Aspen Moolenaar
KENTLAND — The Pioneer volleyball team’s freshmen battled with sectional nerves and DeMotte Christian in a Class 1A, Sectional 50 quarterfinal at South Newton Thursday.
They overcame both and moved on to the semifinals.
Pioneer jumped out to a 12-2 lead in Game 1 and a 16-2 lead in Game 2 and eventually cruised to a 25-16, 25-5, 25-14 win.
One of the freshmen is middle hitter Laylah Demond, who finished with a team-high 13 kills. Another freshman, Averi Layer, was second with seven kills from the opposite side and added three digs. Madyson Shaffer, the freshman libero had six of Pioneer’s 14 aces and added 11 digs.
Keirsten Nies, the team’s lone senior, showed off a consummate game with five kills, three aces, nine assists and 11 digs. Lois Layer had 17 assists.
Pioneer improved to 19-13. DeMotte Christian finished 8-19.
Pioneer will play Tri-County (29-1) in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Eastern today. Tri-County swept Caston 25-7, 25-12, 25-7 in Thursday’s other quarterfinal.
Pioneer coach Rod Nies said he did not like that DeMotte Christian was able to pull within 19-14 in Game 1.
“We weren’t expecting a lot, but you never want to take anybody not seriously,” coach Nies said. “And I think we kind of let up there a little bit on that first set. They called timeout, and we were a little lackadaisical. The one thing we really stress is our serve and our serve-receive has to really clean up if we’re going to make a run in the tournament. And with being such a young team, I think they’re kind of starting to understand it. We play such a brutal schedule, a tough schedule that it kind of prepares us for this. Obviously, we’re going to have to play with a lot more intensity and emotion on Saturday.”
Aspen Moolenaar is one of two juniors on the team. She had six kills and seven digs.
“The first set was a little rough,” Moolenaar said. “It definitely wasn’t our best game, but it was OK for us.”
Demond had six kills in Game 2 alone, including one after a spectacular dig off the net from Keirsten Nies that made it 14-2.
Demond leads the team with 214 kills for the season. Coach Nies said she overcame a slow start in this match.
“We try to get in their ear that at the start of the match, you want to hit smart and take a little bit off and kind of get yourself into a little bit of a rhythm but then start cracking the ball, and after she had those first couple hitting errors, then she loosened up a little bit, and she played well after that.”
Coach Nies said Shaffer “tweaked” her knee in practice Wednesday, and he said that is why he rested her at times in favor of fellow freshman Hallie Lebo.
“Mady and Keirsten both, they really cover a lot of ground,” coach Nies said. “They’re pretty athletic and quick. They anticipate and read the ball really well. So I’m going to need that from the rest of my players to reach a little better on Saturday, or it’s going to be a quick night.”
Moolenaar spoke of the benefits of playing larger schools at tournaments at Franklin Central, Lafayette Central Catholic, Harrison (West Lafayette) and Leo earlier in the season. They also had nonconference matches against powerhouses Benton Central, West Lafayette and South Central (Union Mills).
“It’s definitely just been really quick,” Moolenaar said. “I’ve had to adjust really fast because I’ve never had experience really before, so it’s definitely been a quick adjustment for me. … I feel like I am mostly a leader for all the freshmen that we have. Sometimes they mess up, and we just had to tell them that it’s OK.”
Pioneer def. DeMotte Christian, 25-16, 25-5, 25-14
PIONEER STATS
Aspen Moolenaar – 6 kills, 1 ace, 1 assist, 7 digs; Ava Beasy – 1 ace, 1 assist, 4 digs; Averi Layer – 7 kills, 1 ace, 3 digs; Elizabeth Kennell – 1 dig; Hallie Lebo – 1 dig; Keirsten Nies – 5 kills, 3 aces, 9 assists, 11 digs; Kendalyn Farrer – 2 kills; Laylah Demond – 13 kills, 1 assist, 1 block; Lois Layer – 2 aces, 17 assists, 6 digs, 1 block; Madyson Shaffer – 6 aces, 3 assists, 11 digs
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