The Parkland High School girls volleyball team began a new season with plenty of new faces in a match against an old rival.

This season’s edition of the Trojans picked up right where last year’s left off and defeated Central Catholic in straight sets, by scores of 25-8, 25-11 and 25-14 last Tuesday night at Parkland High School in Eastern Pennsylvania Conference action.

In just the first match of the season against the defending District 11 Class 2A champion Vikettes, Parkland was ready from the opening serve and head coach Mike Krause couldn’t have hoped for more.

“The tradition of Central Catholic volleyball sets a pretty high standard,” said Krause. “I was impressed on how composed the girls were at the beginning of the match. The team had a collective focus which allowed them to play to their ability. That is a credit to our senior leadership.”

The Trojans were never threatened and led for the entirety of the match, taking control early thanks to their service and offensive attack.

“The team showed consistency in all areas,” Krause said. “Our serves were pretty aggressive and controlled. Our attack was diverse. Maggie [Smith] distributed the ball to all three pin positions and also attacked from the back row. We need to work on our timing with our block against front row and back row attacking and our communication on out-of-system plays. Defensively, the team was very focused. They made good decisions. The scramble plays were very good with a controlled confidence on keeping the ball in play.”

Ava Adamson, in her first season with the Trojans, led the team with nine kills. She is trying to help fill the void of 2021 All-State player Brynn Dreisbach, who graduated last year. Krause was impressed early on.

“Brynn was a six-rotation player for four years,” said Krause. “Ava came in and provided some aggressive swings from the left side and the middle along with the back row attack. That allowed Maggie to continue her offensive mindset in how she distributes the ball in system and out of system. Ava demonstrated she can be a reliable six-rotation player. That is also a credit to the senior leadership in the transition of Ava transferring into our program.”

Smith finished with 29 assists and six digs. Elena Pursell recorded six blocks and six kills. Scarlett Jago had 14 digs and Alexa Bartman tallied four aces.

Parkland finishes its week with two road matches in conference play at Allen on Thursday and Easton on Saturday.