Fort Calhoun High School's Tuesday night volleyball match with Omaha Brownell-Talbot was close, but in a way where the Pioneers still pulled off the 3-0 sweep.
Coach Liz Sevcik's team won the first and second sets 25-22, and the third 25-18.
“We just had to keep on talking,” senior Jordan Faucher said after the Fort Calhoun Youth Sports Organization (FCYSO) Youth Night victory. “We had to push each other to keep on talking.”
Though the Pioneers (6-3 overall) faced deficits midway through all three sets, they communicated and finished on top.
“That's what pushed us to get through it,” Faucher said.
Senior Taylor Stewart said FCHS is at its best when it talks out on the floor.
“I think when we work together, and encourage each other when someone does something good, we work a lot better,” she said.
In the first set, an Ari Nelson kill with the Pioneers trailing, 15-14, allowed Faucher to put in some work from behind the serve line. Her first ace evened the set and continued what became a 5-0 run.
“It feels good after, but, during, I just try to focus and try not to get too excited,” the senior said of her serve streak.
Nelson's own ace gave Calhoun a 21-17 advantage before Emilee Thayer-Mencke's kill kept the Pioneers out front, 23-20. Coach Sevcik's team earned set point from there, taking a 1-0 lead.
FCHS later trailed Brownell-Talbot 18-14 in the second, but won the set by three again. Another Thayer-Mencke kill gave the Pioneers a 21-20 advantage before Ansley Elofson's ace pushed the lead to 23-20.
Thayer-Mencke ultimately finished off what became a 2-0 lead with a kill off of the Raiders' block.
Match point at the end of the third set was scored similarly in Fort Calhoun's favor with Stewart making the final attack.
“It was tight and I was kind of scared,” she said. “But I just got up there and I saw the block, so I kind of just hit it off of it.”
The Pioneers trailed the final set early, but a Jovi Grenier kill, a Sophie Weeks ace and a Elofson kill reversed the home squad's fortunes. Nelson won again at the net at 15-12 before Thayer-Mencke's hard spike down the line made it 20-15 with Stewart's match-ender just ahead.
FCHS plays at a junior varsity tournament Saturday in Yutan before it hosts a JV triangular Monday at 5:30 p.m. The Pioneers' next varsity match, however, is next Thursday against Raymond Central.
FCHS VOLLEYBALL LINE SCORE
Tuesday
Fort Calhoun 3, Omaha Brownell-Talbot 0
OBT (3-2) 22 22 18 — 0
FCHS (6-3) 25 25 25 — 3
