Penn Hills girls volleyball working to turn the corner

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, September 15, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Ray Ager wants to see the Penn Hills girls volleyball team learn to weather the storm. When the skies opened up during the Indians’ first four matches, they hadn’t found a way to battle their way to shelter.

With a young team, Ager expected there to be learning pains.

“They’ve handled it well,” Ager said. “We’ve been competing. There have been times when we made mistakes that caused us to mentally shut down. I’m not saying the teams that we have played so far aren’t good, but we’ve beat ourselves a lot.”

Penn Hills (0-6, 0-1) has plenty of time to move in the Section 4-4A standings. The Indians have only faced one section opponent so far. Penn Hills was swept by Kiski Area during its section opener.

The Indians have found consistency with setter Nyelia Ferguson. Ager has tasked her with being a strong decision-maker and helping to keep the offense flowing.

“Basically, she runs our offense, and she is good at finding the hole in the defense,” Ager said. “I told her that she doesn’t have to be in a certain spot every time. If she sees a spot, that’s where she should put the ball. She does a good job of that when she’s serving.”

Zakeia Montini has been Penn Hills’ top outside hitter.

Ager said he is glad it is a longer season. The Indians still have plenty of time to grow together. This is the first time he has coached a varsity girls team, though he has coached varsity at the high school level before.

“It’s been an interesting transition,” Ager said. “It was a tougher sport to learn the personalities more than the formations. I feel like we are starting to groove more. They are feeling more comfortable with me.”

Ager said Penn Hills plans to spend more time on team building to help improve communication.

“I feel like they are on the cusp of turning the corner,” Ager said. “They are a good team. They just have to communicate.”

Tags: Penn Hills