Volleyball Recap: Sofia Pichert Leads a Balanced Effort to Beat Kirtland

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Previous 5 Games

10/22/25 - Home	3-0 W
09/06/23 - Home	3-0 W
09/15/22 - Away	0-3 L
08/24/21 - Home	3-0 W
11/05/20 - Neutral	3-0 W

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Independence had no problem doing just that on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by a 3-0 margin over the Kirtland Hornets. That's more bragging rights for the Blue Devils, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.

Independence's got stronger as the match went on, holding Kirtland to fewer and fewer points set over set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-21, 25-17, 25-7.

Independence's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Sofia Pichert, who had 14 digs and two aces. Pichert has been hot recently, having posted ten or more digs the last four times she's played. Madelyn Mudra was another key player, getting nine digs and three aces.

They weren't the only good servers: Independence was lethal from the service line and finished the match with ten aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least ten aces in four consecutive matches.

Kirtland's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Bria Golem, who had 12 digs and one assist, and Andriana Grman, who had seven assists and three aces.

Independence is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-6 record this season. As for Kirtland, the defeat snapped their winning streak at three matches and leaves them with a 17-8 record.

Coming up, after both having extra time off, Independence and McDonald will shake off the cobwebs and hit the court against one another at 8:00 p.m. on the 30th. Kirtland does not have any more games scheduled as of now.