A long trip to a hot gym was not enough to knock Pella out of a season-opening win at Fairfield Tuesday, as the road team topped a non-conference opponent 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-19, 25-11).

Head Coach Sam Sheldon says a notable moment was how senior Hunter Hughell closed out the festivities with an eight-point service run.

“It was a good chance for us to find our groove,” Sheldon said. “Serving really was the story of the match and once we got ours cleaned up, we were able to get into our rhythm.”

Senior Bryn Higginbotham was happy with how the team progressed throughout the match.

“For our first game as a team we really showed how over the summer we have put in work for this season. We communicated well as a team. Kyli, Elah, and Claire did an amazing job communicating where to put the ball and open areas on the court for the hitters. Sydney also did an amazing job in executing those shot selections.”

Pella opens the season 1-0 and heads to the Bondurant Skip Anderson Invitational Saturday.