WCHS volleyball sweeps on opening night

Warren County had to work through a few opening-night jitters Monday, but once the Lady Pioneers settled in, they looked every bit like a team ready to chase big things this fall.

The Lady Pioneers opened the 2026 season with a sweep at Cannon County, winning 25-18, 25-9 and 25-11. Warren County was pushed throughout the opening set before taking complete control over the final two.

Coach Erin Blalock could see some of the early nerves from a team playing its first match that officially counted.

“They just needed to play to their level. They know how they can play,” said Blalock. “We’ve played preseason, but this is the first official game. You’ve got to kind of work that out. We’ve got to work out those first-game chemistry things, rhythm things, and once they got the flow, they did what we knew they could do.”

Cannon County made Warren County earn the opener. The Lionettes chased down several hard-hit balls and found enough success attacking to stay within striking distance, but the Lady Pioneers never allowed the early mistakes to become anything bigger.

Senior Ali Young admitted there were some nerves once Warren County finally took the court for the real thing.

“There were definitely jitters, but I think that we used the jitters to play better,” said Young. “I think we used it to really push ourselves through the first set, and once the jitters were gone, we really got a good flow.”

That flow was obvious in the second set.

Warren County's serving began picking apart the Cannon County serve receive as the Lady Pioneers continually changed their approach. Some serves were driven deep, others dropped short and Warren County kept finding open areas that made it difficult for the Lionettes to consistently get into their offense.

“We definitely try to look for open spots or areas where maybe they have struggled through the first set or the first part of the game,” said Blalock. “Then we try to pick that out and really try to capitalize on those spots.”

Brynlee Chisam helped set the tone early in the second when a Cannon County overpass floated toward the net and Chisam promptly hammered it back to the floor. The Lady Pioneers kept pouring it on from there, rolling through the second set before carrying the momentum into the third.

Natalie Payne was a force throughout the night in the middle, continuing a steady progression that has made her an increasingly dangerous option at the net. Blalock has watched Payne add more to her game each season and believes her ability to see the court has become one of her biggest strengths.

“She gets better every time she steps on the court,” said Blalock when asking about the junior in the middle. “She’s always looking for ways to improve. She’s a really smart volleyball player, knows exactly where the ball needs to go and, a high percentage of the time, she puts it exactly where she knows that they’re going to struggle to get to it.”

Newcomer Elliana Heintz also made her presence felt in her first official match as a Lady Pioneer. The Arizona transfer came up with a big stuff early in the third set as Warren County continued to dominate at the net.

By late in the third, the opening-night nerves were long gone.

That was probably best illustrated when Young and fellow senior Aubrey Oleksik, two of Warren County's most experienced players, watched a ball fall untouched between them. Instead of allowing the rare communication breakdown to become anything more, the two shared a laugh and quickly moved on.

Blalock didn't need to say much either.

“We know what we did wrong,” Young said with a laugh.

“It was just a little mishap,” added Oleksik.

The moment was a small one, but it also showed a team comfortable enough to know when to be serious and when to move past a mistake. Warren County made sure there wasn't much left to worry about.

Reese Reinitz put the finishing touches on the sweep with one of the night's craftiest plays, disguising what looked like another set before pushing the ball over the net and dropping it perfectly into an open spot in the Cannon County defense for the final point.

Oleksik couldn't have asked for much more from the opening night.

“This is exactly how we want our season to go, putting teams away quickly and just being very vocal and playing the best of our ability,” said Oleksik.

Warren County can look forward to another opening night on Tuesday - the opening night of play at Charlie Dalton Gym for the Lady Pioneers. Warren County will face Wilson Central starting at 6 p.m.

And, as the team posted on its Facebook page this weekend, all WCHS students can get into the match free of charge.