Pink flooded the stands at Tuesday night’s volleyball game against Denison-Schleswig, as it was the annual Breast Cancer Awareness game. The Atlantic girls wore pink jerseys to pay tribute. Spectators doned pink attire as well.

The JV squad took the court first against Denison-Schleswig. The two teams had met at Atlantic’s home tournament, in which the Monarchs walked away with the win. The Monarchs took the lead in the opening set, and maintained it, winning 25-18.

At the beginning of the second set, the Atlantic JV girls were in the lead, with Denison-Schleswig right at their heels. The Monarchs couldn’t catch up until 15-15, which was the first tie of the game. However, a kill kept the Trojans in front at 16-15. Two mishits by the Trojans gave Denison-Schleswig their first lead in the set. After tying it back up at 17-17, the Monarchs strung points together and grabbed the win 25-17.

Through two sets, the JV team had nine kills and four aces. Junior Emma Templeton claimed three of the four. Serving was a strong point for Atlantic, as they went 35 for 36 from behind the service line.

After the JV match, AHS recognized the three senior volleyball players–Taylor Hansen, Emma Joyce, and Sadie Welter–for their efforts in playing the game as part of Senior Night. The girls walked with their parents as the audience applauded their hard work.

Senior Night also took place at the Trojan’s last home volleyball game. “It was pretty nerve-racking in the beginning and knowing it was my last time playing,” Hansen said about playing volleyball in front of the home crowd one last time. Some of the girls shed tears as they accepted this as one of their lasts in their high school career.

Emotions aside, the Trojans got ready to work against the Monarchs. This match looked like the most promising win for the Trojans, as Denison-Schleswig was right above Atlantic in the conference standings. The matchup started off rocky for the Trojans, who lost the first set 25-14. However, the next two sets were close, with the two teams always neck and neck. The Trojan’s serving game was solid, and helped their possessions go smoothly. However, the Monarchs outhit the Trojans and took the next two sets 25-21 and 25-19.

Against Denison-Schleswig, the Trojans notched 24 digs and 19 kills. Joyce had four kills–the highest number she has snagged in a single match all season. Hansen also contributed a kill on the stat sheet. Finally, Welter continued her usual superb serving style, as she went 7 for 7 on the night.

The Trojans have two more conference challengers to take on–Red Oak and Shenandoah. The three teams will brawl it out on Tuesday, in Shenandoah.