Volleyball: Joseph claims five-set win over Imbler

Published 10:36 am Wednesday, October 11, 2023

IMBLER — The 1A Old Oregon League match went the full five sets and included extra points before the Joseph volleyball team broke out of a two-game skid and won a 3-2 contest versus Imbler on Tuesday, Oct. 10 in the Panther gym.

Imbler won the first set, 25-19 before Joseph returned in the second set to even up the game, winning 25-16.

Going into extra points in the third set, Joseph escaped with a 26-24 win, but allowed Imbler back into the match as the Panthers won the fourth set 25-22.

Joseph won the fifth and final set 15-11 to claim the victory.

The night was extraordinary for Joseph senior Cooper Nave, leading the Eagles offense with 35 kills.

Aimee Meyers led in digs with 27 while also adding 34 assists.

“The girls showed some true grit tonight,” said Joseph coach Jill Hite.

Joseph did struggle from the service line, ending the night at only 93 percent with Lakotah Steel recording only two aces, the sole ace serves for Joseph.

On Saturday, Oct. 7, the Joseph volleyball team witnessed and played some of the top 1A volleyball teams in the state, attending the Eagle Invitational at Damacus Christian High School.

Joseph started the tournament right, taking a 2-1 victory over the host Eagles, winning 25-12, 15-25 and 15-10.

In Joseph’s second match of the day, the Eagles took on the Crane Mustangs, the top-ranked 1A team currently. Winning the first set 25-17, Joseph saw Crane come back and take set two 25-15 and hand the Eagles a loss in the third set, 15-11.

Closing out the day, Trinity Lutheran downed the Eagles 25-21 and 25-18 as Joseph finished 1-2 for the tournament.

“The girls showed a lot of heart this weekend at this tough tournament,” said coach Hite. “We still have some work to do, however.”

For the day, Cooper Nave ended with 33 kills and Aimee Meyers added 34 digs. Meyers also led the team in both assists and serving aces.

Joseph (19-8 overall, 7-2 1A Old Oregon League) closes out the regular season on Saturday, Oct. 14 with a home match versus Cove (9-12 overall, 2-5 1A Old Oregon League). The first serve is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.