NEWS CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO — STC sophomore Shelby Johannsen sets up her teammates in a previous match this season. Johannsen scored key points down the stretch in set #3 of the Trojan's playoff match against Pella Christian.

PELLA — The STC volleyball team traveled to Pella on Tuesday, Oct. 21, to face Pella Christian in the Class 3A regional playoff opening round. In the best-of-five format, the Trojans had a difficult end of their season, falling to the Eagles, 3-0.

STC hung with Pella Christian in the first set of the match. The Eagles jumped out to a 7-3 lead but after a kill by junior Mady Boriskey, a point by sophomore Maylee Rucker, and a serving ace by sophomore Sydney Arp, the Trojans cut the lead to 8-6. Soon after, however, Pella Christian scored ten straight points in the middle of the set to extend their lead to 23-11. The Trojans made a late push to get back in the game but the Eagles held on to win, 25-16.

In set #2, Pella Christian came storming out of the gate and took a commanding 13-0 lead. STC crawled back to get back into the set but the Eagles won by an identical score of 25-16.

In the final set of the night, the Trojans jumped out to a 2-1 lead behind points scored by sophomore Stella Zmolek and junior co-captain Paisley Bro. After Pella Christian put a run together to take a 10-4 lead, STC fought all the way back to tie the score at 11-11. From there, the two teams battled back-and-forth to the end. In the home stretch, the Trojans were led by points from Zmolek, sophomore Keinzle Boriskey, and multiple points from Bro and sophomore Shelby Johannsen. But the Eagles were able to hold off the Trojans and finished set #3 with a 25-23 win.

With the loss, the Trojans ended their 2025 campaign with a record of 19-18.