South Tama senior Cailey Brown returns service against Montezuma as senior Macy Welsh (#8) looks on during last Thursday night’s home match. PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

The South Tama varsity girls volleyball team held their first home match on Thursday, Sept. 5 in front of a large crowd at the STC Roundhouse. The Montezuma Bravettes came to town and prevailed over the Trojans in a highly competitive match that went all five sets.

STC got off to a great start, dominating the first set 25-10. The second set was much more competitive with the two teams going back and forth until the Bravettes were finally able to pull away, 26-24. It was the same story in the third set as the teams battled closely until, this time, the Trojans came out on top 25-21.

In the fourth set, Montezuma got off to a big lead of 16-6 before the Trojans came storming back to get within a score of 22-19. However, the Bravettes were able to hold on and win 25-20. Then, in the decisive fifth match, Montezuma out-dueled the Trojans 15-13 to win the match.

For the night, sophomore Paisley Bro led the Trojans with twenty kills, followed by senior co-captain Macy Welsh with eleven. Senior Skyla Beck led with thirty-two assists, and senior co-captain Cailey Brown paced South Tama with twenty digs.

A pair of younger Trojans led the team in blocks, with sophomore Mady Boriskey and freshman Keinzle Boriskey each tallying two. Finally, senior co-captain Janette Cervantes led the team with nine aces.

STC’s Skyla Beck prepares a set while Keinzle Boriskey (1) and Paisley Bro approach the net during the home match against Montezuma last Thursday. PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

A few days after the match, South Tama head coach Sam Cantonwine reflected on the night.

“I thought our team gave a great effort. It was a very difficult loss. I thought we had a bit of a mindset of ‘playing not to lose’ rather than ‘playing to win.’ The effort is there and we are working on changing that mindset. We have to learn from it and move forward,” Cantonwine said.

Cantonwine was pleased with the team’s effort a few days later, when they played highly competitive matches against BCLUW and a ranked Hudson team at the BCLUW Invite.

The Trojans (2-9) had a home match on Thursday against Des Moines Hoover, and they will host Grinnell on Sept. 24.