Pioneer Volleyball Falls to FHU in Four Set Thriller

Pioneer Volleyball Falls to FHU in Four Set Thriller- Wil Teague, Sports Information Director, 9/20/24

In tonight's four-set matchup between the Lady Lions of FHU and your Lady Pioneers, CRC painted a crisp and vivid picture of the talent the teams hold in their grasp because though the Lady Pioneers were defeated, the team gave fans a heart-thumping 2-hour thrill, gleaming light on all things possible this season.

Paragould, Ark.- In this evening's opening frame of action, CRC would find themselves behind the ball as a sluggish start allowed the Lions to jump ahead 12-5 to force a CRC timeout. When play resumed the Lady Pioneers regrouped and changed the plan of attack with Mallory Hollis cutting into the Lion lead with back-to-back service aces, but it wouldn't be the spark needed as CRC would bring the set within five points, but would never overtake Freed-Hardeman. 

Set two CRC would claim their sole set win of the evening, and it would prove to be the most in-sync the team has looked this season. The Lady Pioneers changed game plans and came hot out of the gate attacking early and often. The more impressive part of the set would be how the Lady Pioneer rallied together after FHU nuzzled their way back into the set when the teams found themselves knotted up at the 10-point mark. The Lady Pioneers stood tall, trading blow for blow, point for point, with big-time blocks from Brooklyn Cross, Alexis Weirich, and Brooklynn Passmore which allowed CRC the capitalize on a small break, taking a 19-15 point lead. FHU would burn both timeouts in the remainder of the set but it would be to no avail as Jillian Glasgow would claim the 25th point and a set two win for CRC.

After a big CRC set-two win, the Lady Lions responded with a clear message. In the third frame from the opening serve, FHU swung back. CRC managed to keep the Lions close until a mid-way breaking point separated the two teams with Freed-Hardeman coming out on top. CRC stopped regulation to talk things over trailing 19-11 but would only postpone the inevitable as FHU would claim the set with a 9-point spread. 

In the final set of the contest, Brooklyn Cross and Alyssa Dirden would give CRC the offensive help needed to catch back up and match the Lions at 8 points each. From this point forward, the scoreboard looked like a ping-pong match with each team reclaiming the lead after each serve. This was until CRC caught a break off three Freed Hardeman attacking errors, gifting them a 23-20 point lead. With the Lady Pioners on the verge of forcing their first five-set match of the season,  agonizingly, Freed-Hardeman mustered 5 straight unanswered points to end the contest and hand CRC their fourth loss on the season.  

Hannah Halverson led the Lady Pioneers in kills with 8 and added 10 digs; Jadyn Hesse handed out 18 assists; Jillian Glasgow followed with 10; Alyssa Dirden led in digs with 13 and led with 4 service aces; Brooklyn Cross added 4 blocks and 4 kills in the setback. 

Up Next: The Lady Pioneers hit the road to Hannibal, MO to compete in their first American Midwest Conference matchup against Hannibal-LaGrange on Tuesday, September 24th at 6:00 PM. #GOPIONEERS