Pioneers will take the win

Some might think the Providence High girls’ volleyball team has had

nothing to worry about the past few weeks.

The Pioneers were undefeated heading into Wednesday’s Liberty

Leage match against visiting Buckley, and had been playing well.

However, even though the Pioneers did away with Buckley, 25-15,

25-19, 25-21, at least one Providence player was concerned with the

team’s lethargic performance.

“I think we played poorly, but we pulled it off,” said junior

outside hitter Heather Hansen, who led Providence with eight kills,

five digs and two aces. “We’re going to have to play better than that

if we want to win league.”

Hansen added the Pioneers should have put away the Griffins much

earlier in the match.

“We didn’t come out hard enough in the beginning and weren’t

focused,” she said.

Providence Coach James Jimenez agreed with Hansen, saying the

Pioneers (12-0, 2-0 in league) weren’t prepared for the gritty

defense Buckley put up.

“It was closer than I expected it to be,” Jimenez said. “Buckley

played well, better than we expected. I don’t think we played our

best. You have to win ugly sometimes.”

Jimenez added Hansen’s play was a big reason for the victory.

“She’s one of our most steady hitters,” he said. “She knows how

the keep the ball in and when we need a clutch hit, she can get it.

She knows how to close games out.”

It looked like it would be an easy afternoon for Providence, which

jumped out to an 18-6 lead in the first game. However, Buckley (4-5,

1-3) started to come back, scoring three straight points, en route to

a 9-5 run before being put away by Providence.