A new season has brought a youth movement for both Palmerton and Jim Thorpe.

The two volleyball squads met Monday evening, with the Blue Bombers looking to avenge their opening night loss and the Olympians wanting to kick off their campaign on a positive note.

Through a combination of old and new faces, Thorpe used long scoring stretches to put the first two games out of reach and survived a competitive third game for a 3-0 sweep.

Both programs possess a mostly inexperienced roster at the varsity level, with numerous new faces being elevated into important roles. Among the new players also includes a new head coach in Palmerton’s Lily Kershner. Formerly the assistant coach, Kershner is temporarily taking the reins over from Savannah Mickel, who is currently away on deployment.

“It’s an interesting situation, but it’s such a nice environment and it’s so easy stepping into this spot,” she said. “I don’t think there would have been a better program for me to step into. Everybody here is just so nice, and it’s honestly just a great spot for me to be in.”

Game one began with both teams initially trading points until Jim Thorpe put together a scoring run and continued to keep it rolling. The Olympians’ newest face in freshman Gabi Oliver, led the charge with six points, including four aces (six overall), as part of a 10-0 run and a 19-6 lead.

“It’s a great opportunity that I have to be a freshman on varsity because it really elevates my play as a freshman,” Oliver said. “It helps me play better as I’m around better girls, and it really makes me step up for my team.”

The Bombers fought back with junior Delainey Keiser stepping up with four points, but the deficit was too much to overcome as the Olympians finished with a 25-19 opening-game win.

With JT seemingly more settled into the action, it grabbed an early lead in the second game and never relinquished it. This time, it was the experience of junior Aubrey Stamets that took over with five points, including three aces, putting together a 9-0 run.

The youth of Palmerton began to show as it could not catch back up and dropped the second game 25-12.

“We lost seven seniors from last year … so it’s definitely a learning curve,” said coach Kershner. “The whole team is pretty much new to varsity, but they’re doing a great job of learning and it’s such a hard game to learn, but they’re all doing a great job.”

In typical Palmerton fashion, game three showed that there was no quit in the Bombers regardless of the score or the disadvantages facing them.

Despite an early 11-6 lead for the Olympians, a 7-0 run from Palmerton put the hometown team in front and forced Thorpe head coach Rachel Oliver to settle her girls down.

“Palmerton was scrappy … and they were not going to give up,” she said. “(During) that time out, I said ‘Girls, we have to play every point. Don’t play to the end, play to the point.’ So we just have to focus on that mindset all the time. Don’t worry about getting to 25, worry about getting the one … and kind of go from there. Don’t play with that scared anxiety.”

From there, the two sides traded short runs up to a tie at 22 as JT’s Kimora Seales-Griffith came up with a key block to knot things up. The Olympians then took the final three points for the win, capped off by another ace from Oliver.

The combination of youth and experience led to a total team effort for Thorpe. Senior Remy Gorski led her team to victory with nine kills, but couldn’t stop praising her younger teammates for the effort they put in and what’s to come from them going forward.

“Going in with this first win really sets the tone for the rest of the season,” she said. “A lot of our team is (full of) new girls, so to have that first win under our belts gives them a lot of confidence and motivation going into our next few games. To be that young and play on the varsity (team) for the first time for some of them, it makes me really proud.”

FIRST WEEK FRENZY … With the first full week of the season now underway, there will be no shortage of game action for both teams. Palmerton will have back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday, traveling to Catasauqua and hosting Notre Dame. Jim Thorpe returns home to great Southern Lehigh on Wednesday, and finishes the week on Saturday at Saucon Valley.

Jim Thorpe 3, Palmerton 0

Jim Thorpe 25 25 25

Palmerton 19 12 22

Stat Leaders: Jim Thorpe - Gabi Oliver 6 aces, 4 digs, 1 kill, 1 assist; Brooklynn Yuhas 4 aces, 3 kills, 2 digs, 1 assist; Remy Gorski 9 kills, 2 aces, 2 digs, 1 assist; Lillian Outwater - 5 aces, 2 kills, 1 dig; Aubrey Stamets 4 kills, 1 ace, 3 digs; Palmerton - Dalainey Keiser 3 kills, 1 ace, 2 digs; Morgan Wayda 4 digs, 1 ace.

Records: Jim Thorpe (1-0); Palmerton (0-2).