Perry visited Greene County last night inside the high school gym in Jefferson. It was the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference opener for both teams and the Rams played at home for the first time this season. Greene County won in three sets by scores of 25-13, 25-14, 25-20. Neither team had won a match entering Monday’s action, but the Rams are now 1-5 and the Jayettes fall to 0-7.

Coach Chris Heisterkamp’s Rams had 14 ace serves on the night including seven in the first set. The Rams built double digit leads in sets one and two, but the Jayettes were within three points late in set three, at 20-23, but the Rams scored the last two points to win the final set and the match.

Unofficial bench stats show sophomore Hannah Fouch eading the Rams in kill with nine. Senior Calleigh Fitzpatrick had seven kills with six by junior Makenna Ebersole, four each from seniors Natalie Baugh and Lila Osterson. and three from sophomore Ashlynn Ball. Baugh had 15 assists with nine by Taylor Johnston and four for Bellah Johnson. Seven Rams served at a 100 percent rate led by Johnston and junior Ellee Happe at seven for seven. Sophomore Madi Skalla was six for six while seniors Addison Gannon, Osterson, and Kaycee Pittman each went five for five. Johnson, the libero, led the team in digs with five.

Coach Heisterkamp said it was a nice win in front of the home crowd. “Our players were connecting with each other better. We didn’t vary out speed much, but showed how powerful many of our players are. The girls played more relaxed and didn’t worry as much about making mistakes.” The coach added  “Our season started with tough competition, so it was good for the team to come away with a conference win. Our offense was humming with great passes, precise sets and strong attacks. It was especially great to see the good passes open the door for hitters to get some powerful swings. All in all, a great night for our team to find their groove.”

The Rams are off until Saturday when they travel to Eldora for the South Hardin tournament.