Bronco volleyball 2-2 to start

    The Wauneta-Palisade volleyball team played four competitive matches to start the season and came up with two wins and two losses.
    WP swept Hitchcock County to start the season Aug. 25.
    The Broncos grabbed the momentum with a 5-0 run behind Halle Bardsley’s serves to start the set and never let the lead drop to less than four in the 25-12 win.
    Hitchcock County put up more of a fight in the second set. WP fell behind 5-7, but soon took a 12-8 lead. The Falcons made a run late, but WP finished off the set 25-20.
    Set three turned into a battle. The Broncos took an early five-point lead, but found the set tied at 11-11 before falling behind 13-17. WP battled back to match point, 24-22, only to find itself facing set point, 24-25. An ace by GraCee Goings set up the 27-25 win.
    Goings and Peyton Cox each had nine kills in the match. Bardsley had 12 assists.
    Saturday the Broncos traveled to the Cambridge tournament.
    WP was swept by the Trojans to start the day. The Broncos were never able to string together any serving runs and lost the first set 8-25.
    The Broncos stepped up in the second set. WP battled to a 16-16 tie, but let Cambridge slip away. The Broncos lost the set 20-25.
    P. Cox had five kills and Bardsley had five assists. Chloe Stehno added three aces.
    The Broncos rebounded with a three-set win over Red Cloud to round out pool play.
    WP was dominant in the first set, rolling to a 25-12 win.
    WP looked to be in control early in set two, 8-4, but Red Cloud turned the tables on the Broncos. WP fell behind 14-15 before rallying to take a 19-17 lead. Red Cloud made a late push and the Broncos dropped the set 21-25.
    A big serving run by P. Cox gave WP an 11-5 lead in set three. Red Cloud closed to within one point before Bardsley served the Broncos to an 18-12 advantage. WP was unable to pull away from the Warriors. The Broncos lead shrunk to 23-22 before WP closed out the set 25-22.
    Cali Cox had seven kills and P. Cox had 11 assists in the match.
    The day ended with a match against Norton, Kansas.
    Stehno got the Broncos off to a 7-3 start and WP stayed within three or four points of the Bluejays for much of the first set, until a five-point run by Norton put the set out of reach. The Broncos lost 17-25.
    Stehno continued to have a hot hand at the service line in the second set, leading WP to five-straight points early. P. Cox added to the lead, serving up five points and a 12-6 advantage. Norton used a run of its own to take a five-point lead, but Stehno served the set back to a tie. The Broncos held off three  match points before falling 23-20.
    P. Cox led the Broncos with nine kills. C. Stehno totaled six aces.
Up next
    The Broncos will play at 0-2 South Platte Thursday. WP will have a week to prepare for a triangular with Kansas schools St. Francis and Rawlins County in St. Francis on Sept. 8.