Knights fall to Port’s balanced attack

This time Port Washington High School’s boys’ volleyball team didn’t let Nicolet off the hook.

The Pirates last season led Nicolet, 2 sets to 1, before losing the fourth, 30-28, then the fifth, 15-8.

At Nicolet on Sept. 9, Port won 3-1, 25-21, 24-26, 25-22, 25-23.

Cooper Celmo led the Pirates with 12 kills and 11 digs.

“Cooper Celmo had some timely fully laid-out digs to keep plays alive, and I thought when he had his offensive opportunities he was really smart with picking his tempo and his shots, hitting .409 on 22 attempts,” coach Doug Niemeyer said.

Will Theisen had nine kills, Gabe Jerome had seven and Sam Kiss had six.

“Sam Kiss hit .714 when he got his opportunities going six kills on seven attempts and only one error,” Niemeyer said.

Jerome served three aces and made four blocks. He and Mark Krueger each had nine digs. Theisen had six digs, and Cooper Giese and Sawyer Lorier each had four.

“Sawyer Lorier, who only plays back row when he serves, had a couple of pretty nice digs from their few heavy attacks,” Niemeyer said.

Giese had 20 assists, and Jerome had 18.

“Gabe Jerome served well, was solid dishing the ball and also hit .538 on 13 attempts,” Niemeyer said.

Port, 2-0 in the North Shore Conference and 8-2 overall, was to play at Hartford on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The Pirates play at Wauwatosa West on Monday, Sept. 21, and at Cedarburg on Wednesday, Sept. 23.