BRIGHTON — With plenty of new faces, the Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School girls varsity and junior varsity volleyball teams started the 2016 season Sept. 7 with a pair of victories against Osceola Middle on the Brighton Reservation.

After dropping the first set and facing a 17-13 deficit in the second set, PECS’ varsity looked as though it was headed toward a loss, but the Lady Seminoles roared back to win the set and the match. Scores were 13-25, 25-22, 15-9.

“We showed a lot of heart and a lot of fight. They waited until the second game at like 19-19 to finally kick it in gear,” said PECS coach Kim Jackson.

Strong serving from Mariah Billie helped erase the second set deficit as the Lady Seminoles finished on a 12-5 run to force a third set.

An outstanding dig from Gisselle Micco led to a 1-0 lead for the Lady Seminoles in the third set and the team never trailed again. Aces from Elle Thomas helped PECS build its lead. The Lady Seminoles went ahead 13-9 thanks to a diving dig from Alyssa Gonzalez.

Mariah, Elle and Karey Gopher were the top servers for PECS with three aces each. Karey and Elle also had two kills. Mariah and Tafv Harris registered one kill each and Shayla French had one ace.

PECS swept Osceola, 25-18, 25-22, in the junior varsity match. Leilani Burton, Lashae King, Alice Osceola and Ryanna Osceola were among standouts in serving.

This year’s squad is filled with youth and inexperience. Only two eighth-graders (Alyssa and Shayla) are on the roster and only three players have varsity experience (Elle, Karey and Mariah).

“A lot of new faces,” Jackson said. “I think we have a lot of room for growth. We have to work on some passing and get that taken care of it and I think the rest will come.”

PECS followed up its season opening victory with a win against Clewiston. The JV won 25-5, 25-6. The varsity won 25-11, 25-13.

Elle led the team with four aces and six kills. Karey was right behind her with three aces and five kills. Melina added four aces and one kill. Lashae served up two aces and one kill. Tafv also had two aces and one kill. Mariah had three aces and Shaela added one ace.

PECS Varsity
Mariah Billie
Shayla French
Alyssa Gonzalez
Karey Gopher
Tafv Harris
Gisselle Micco
Melina Steve
Elle Thomas

PECS Junior Varsity
Leilani Burton
Winnie Gopher
Kalyn Hammill
Lashae King
Makya King
Hailey Leach
Tammy Martinez
Angelie Melton
Alice Osceola
Ryanna Osceola
Shylynn Testerman
Karoline Urbina