Ram volleyball opens conference play with back-to-back wins

Staff Report

The Greene County volleyball team continues its impressive run, picking up consecutive wins in the last week to improve to 11-4 overall.

The Rams knocked off both South Hamilton (Sept. 15) and PCM (Sept. 20) in straight sets to jump out to a 2-0 start in Heart of Iowa Conference play. Only Greene County and Nevada (3-0) remain without a loss in league play so far, with all seven other teams with at least one defeat.

The Rams have been victorious in five of their last seven outings. Tuesday’s victory in Monroe saw the Rams win set one 25-17 before seemingly growing stronger as the match went on, prevailing 25-10 in set two before closing it out with a 25-13 victory in set three.
Greene County was magnificent in their home win over South Hamilton last week, tallying 46 total kills, led by Kaylee Stalder’s team-best 16 kills. Natalie Heupel recorded a team-high 41 assists while the Rams secured a 94.6 percent service rate as a team.

Prior to last week’s win (more up to date statistics were not available at press time), Isabella Schroeder was second in the HOIC with 117 total kills while Stalder was third with 104 kills. Nevada’s Lily Goos was leading the league with 137 kills.
Heupel was fourth in the league with 239 assists while Katrina Heupel’s 26 aces were fourth-most in the HOIC.
Defensively, Schroeder was second with 31 blocks. As a team, the Rams were second with 354 total kills to go with the third most blocks at 68.

Historically, Greene County is nearing a variety of unique marks. The Rams are all but guaranteed their second straight winning season, a feat no Greene County or Jefferson-Scranton squad has obtained in more than 12 years. The double-digit win total of 11 so far marks just the third time Greene County has reached that plateau since 2016.
Greene County’s highest win total in the last 10 years was 16, a mark reached both last year and in 2015.

The Rams are in action again Saturday as they host seven schools in a tournament.

TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Greene County will do battle Saturday against Boone (10-13), Carlisle (9-12) Carroll (7-18), Nodaway Valley (8-11), Pella Christian (13-8), South Hardin (17-5) and Stanton, who is ranked 10th in Class 1A with an 18-6 record. The Rams are one of four teams to enter the tournament with a winning record.

South Hardin has tallied 518 kills as a team, led by Ellie Anderson who has contributed a team-high 169 kills. Ava Salvo leads the team with 35 aces, aiding South Hardin’s team total of 145 aces. Stanton has produced 504 total kills thanks to Kyla Hart’s team-best 156 kills. As a team, the Vikings have tallied 115 total aces. Pella Christian has won seven straight games and features a balanced attack, with six hitters having contributed at least 50 kills. The Eagles have also tallied 161 aces as a team.

Greene County opens tournament play at 9 a.m. against Boone. The Toreadors rely on the prowess of a trio of hitters. Brenna Vote (108 kills), Erin Ades (143) and Natalee Danner (115 kills) have all contributed more than 100 kills this fall.

The Rams stay home Tuesday to take on Perry (6-18, 1-2) at 6:30 p.m. in Jefferson.