ROCKWELL CITY — The 2021 volleyball season finally began for Perry Saturday, with the Jayettes playing four times at the South Central Calhoun tourney.
Unfortunately for the new-look Jayettes, victory proved elusive, with the team dropping all four matches.
Perry fell to Belmond-Klemme (21-16, 21-11), South Central Calhoun (21-13, 21-6), Audubon (21-12, 21-10), and Pocahontas Area (22-20, 21-9).
Veteran head coach John Fulton has a few new faces in the lineup and has been forced to put several players in new positions. The team will play at home for the first time Thursday when they host the Perry Tournament.
Ashley Cerna had a combined 10 kills for Perry Saturday, with Kathryn West making eight kills and Maci Tunink and Jayna Kenney six each. Kimberly Castillo finished with five kills, Callie Steva with three and Taylor Atwell with one.
Atwell provided 17 assists and Kenney 15, with Steva adding three assists, Cerna two and Addison Huntington one.
Huntington had a team-best 14 digs, with Kenney adding 13. Steva recorded 11 digs and Atwell 10, with seven from Cerna, six from Tunink, and two from Castillo also helping the defense.
The Jayettes struggled serving in their first outings of the season, finishing only 70-of-94 (74 percent) behind the line with six combined aces.
Atwell served 16-of-19 with an ace, with Huntington 14-17-1, Steva 13-16-1, and Cerna 7-14-1. Kenney was 12-13-1 behind the line and West 7-11-1, with Tunink 1-of-4.
