Park Hill South’s Alex Dvorak hits the ball during the second set against Oak Park on Sept. 23.
For the third straight home match, the Park Hill South volleyball team came out on top when the Panthers swept Oak Park on senior night on Sept. 23.
The first two sets were similar between the Panthers and Northmen as the game began with some back-and-forth play until Park Hill South extended its lead in the back half to win the set. In the first set, there were four ties and five lead changes early until the Panthers broke a 5-5 tie and took an eventual 25-12 win.
“Coming out, there was a lot going on so we had to refocus a bit,” Park Hill South head coach Jackie Rathke said. “We just had to tell our girls that from the opening serve to match point, this game is our focus.”
The second set started out close again until Park Hill South took down Oak Park by a score of 25-15. The Panthers wasted no time in the third set by scoring the opening five points.
Park Hill South controlled the score for the entire set and the Panthers never trailed. The Panthers came out with a 3-0 match victory after taking set three, 25-10.
“We set the tone early and that was the difference in the third set opposed to the first two sets; keeping the speed of our offense and not slowing down,” Rathke said.
Six senior Panthers were recognized ahead of the match for senior night and Park Hill South made sure not to let the night disappoint. Keegan Good ended the match off by breaking the 1,000 career digs’ barrier to make the night even more special for the senior libero.
“That is not something that is accomplished by everybody, so getting to do that on senior night is pretty special. I’m happy for all of our seniors to get to experience this after everything that they have gone through,” Rathke said.