By BRANDON HURLEY
Sports Editor
sports@beeherald.com
Potential meets its match next week.
The Paton-Churdan volleyball team will head north Monday, Oct. 19 to take on Fort Dodge St. Edmond in the first round of Class 1A, Region 2 play. The match begins at 7 p.m., with the winner facing off against either AGSWR or Colo-Nesco in the quarterfinals.
P-C has enjoyed a recent surge as of late, winning of four of their last five, launching theirselves to an even .500 record at 7-7 with two regular season games remaining and and jaunt the Rolling Valley Conference tournament before Monday’s matchup.
The Rockets have lost just three total sets in their last five games, and look poised to make some significant noise in the postseason.
St. Edmond recently came out of a two-week quarantine, which forced them to step away from the court for a solid portion of the season. The Gaels had only played eight games prior to the stoppage (stumbling to 4-4 overall), but they certainly are battle-tested. Though the Fort Dodge squad suffered losses in both games, they have faced two of the best teams in Class 3A, falling to No. 11 Humboldt and second-ranked Clarion-Goldfield/Dows in recent weeks. The Gaels are led by a quartet of talented hitters, as Leah Neverman has recorded 45 kills in eight games. Both Aleah Anderson (34) and Kasey Kruthoff (37) have also tallied more than 30 kills as well.
Senior Danielle Hoyle leads the Rockets with 201 kills (second most in the RVC) and 46 blocks while Chloe Berns is tops on the team with 303 assists, an average of 6.4 assists per contest. Karissa Stephenson is the team-leader in both digs (189) and service aces (24). As of Wednesday, Oct. 14, the Rockets were 3-5 in Rolling Valley Conference play, sitting in a tie for fifth-place. Eleventh-rated Coon Rapids-Bayard (12-2) and CAM (20-4) were tied atop the league with matching 7-1 records while Glidden-Ralston and Boyer Volley were the only other teams sporting a winning conference record, both tied at 6-2.
Monday’s winner will square off in the quarterfinals Wednesday, Oct. 21 at the AGSWR High School in Ackley. The regional semifinals are set for Oct. 26 in Janesville while the Region 2 championship will be held Oct. 28 in Clarksville. The 2020 volleyball state tournament will be held Nov. 2-5 in Cedar Rapids.