FORT DODGE — The Perry volleyball team fell in three sets to host Fort Dodge St. Edmond Thursday, but new head coach John Fulton said he saw plenty to please him in the 25-20, 25-16 and 25-17 loss.
“I was happy with how aggressive we were, and how aggressive we were in our serving,” Fulton remarked. “We know it is not going to be easy for us, but we went out and competed hard and stayed positive. We fell behind 9-1 in game one and 10-2 in game three but fought back — we just couldn’t overcome that much of a gap. A win would have been nice, but considering the circumstances, I liked what I saw.”
Those “circumstances” largely involved the unfortunate loss of senior Jo Diw, who injured an ankle in practice early in the week and is expected to miss at least two weeks of action. Diw was the third-leading kills leader returning in the Raccoon River Conference, and Perry will have to adjust to playing without their primary weapon at the net.
Sid Vancil, Isabel Saemisch and Gabby West had three kills apiece for Perry, with Syd Guerra and Adriana Eastman both adding two kills while Mackenzie Ayers and Kacy Nevitt had one each. West and Nevitt both had a pair of blocks, with Vancil providing nine assists.
Guerra tallied nine digs, Eastman four and Magley Orellana three to lead the Jayette defense.
West served 9-of-11 with three aces and Nevitt 7-of-10 with two aces to lead Perry behind the line. Eastman was 8-9-1 and Saemisch 7-8-1, with Guerra 10-of-11 and Vancil 9-of-9.
Perry will open Saturday’s three-site Bondurant-Farrar Invitational at the B-F high school. Williamsburg is the first opponent, at 9 a.m., with pool play including matches with Knoxville and Dubuque Hempstead. Based upon those results, the Jayettes will either remain at the high school or be sent to either the middle or elementary school.
