It was a memorable night for the Warrenton volleyball team on the two-year anniversary of an event they would rather forget. As the Warriors suited up to face cross-county rival Wright City last Thursday, in the back of the minds was fallen teammate Megan Gross, who lost her life in a motor vehicle accident in September 2018.

“Wright City did a nice gesture of holding a moment of silence and wearing purple, which was Megan’s favorite color,” said Warrenton Coach Randy Kindschuh.

Seniors on this year’s team played alongside Gross and were determined to continue the program’s success in her honor. The Warriors returned home from Wright City in dominant fashion, taking the match in three sets (25-18, 25-16, 25-7).

“Our serve game was really strong,” said Kindschuh. “We were able to serve tough, so they couldn’t get a lot of opportunities to hit.”

The Warriors recorded a season-best 14 aces, led by Morgan Frye with six and Josey Schipper with three.

“Josey had one of her best matches, and Morgan got on a roll when she was serving,” said Kindschuh.

Despite Warrenton’s success, Wright City was able to remain competitive during the first two matches.

“I think the first two matches we were really on top of the game, ready and anticipating their offensive moves,” said Wright City Coach Christine Goldsmith. “Early on in serve receive we were able to get the ball to our setter in the correct position so she was able to give good sets and our hitters had the best possibilities. After that our passes started to get off target and it was harder to set up attacks that way.”

The Warriors received strong contribution from Ella Smith, who had five kills on the right side. Warrenton also had seven kills distributed among its middle hitters.

“We don’t normally get a lot of production out of our middles, but we were able to get them involved so that was good,” said Kindschuh. “They played us tough the first set, and then in the second set we started getting our serves going again.”

Wright City was led by Peyton Hart with nine blocks and two kills, while Jasmine Simpson had nine blocks and three kills.

“It’s really helpful, because those two are such strong competitors at the net,” said Goldsmith. “They’re able to hit really well and block well. I really love when they’re in the front row position, because they take control at the net.”

This week Wright City travels to Montgomery County on Thursday, before going to North Callaway on Tuesday.

Warrenton, which won the Cuba Tournament last weekend, will head to St. Charles West on Tuesday.