Pioneer’s Alexis Robinson goes on the attack while Triton’s Charlotte Morris, left, and Abbey Viers, right, attempt to block during the Culver Community Regional semifinals Saturday. (Photos by James Costello)

CULVER — Triton volleyball hit the court at the Culver Community Regional Saturday morning hoping their best was still to come. Instead, the Blue Slam struggled in some uncharacteristic ways opposite sixth-ranked Pioneer in the late semifinal at John R. Nelson Gymnasium.

The result was a season-ending, 25-22, 25-18, 25-10 sweep at the hands of the Panthers.

“That was not our best game. We looked extremely undisciplined today,” said Triton coach Gayle Perry. “They were just trying to hard, didn’t want it to end. A couple of them tried to do it themselves. (Nicole) Sechrist tried too hard; she had more errors today than she did all season in any match.

“They just didn’t want the end to happen. Rather than focusing on the win, they focused on not letting it end.”

Taytum Hargrave digs up a ball.

The Blue Slam (16-17) fell behind 7-1 early in the first set before battling back to tie it at 8-8, but the Panthers (28-9) pushed their lead back to 20-14 before Triton’s players rallied again, whittling that deficit down to a point at 23-22. Just when they had finally seemed to settle in, Pioneer took them out of rhythm again, closing out the game with the next two points, the last on a tip by outside hitter Alexis Robinson.

Triton fell into a similar, 8-2 deficit at the start of the second game and already trailed by 10 points at 14-4. The Blue Slam willed themselves back into it once more but never got closer than 23-17, then slid into a 17-7 deficit in the third set and looked increasingly out of sorts with the pressure on late.

“We didn’t hit well. We didn’t distribute the ball well. We had no mix in our game,” Perry said. “They’re a good team; don’t get me wrong. They obviously have worked really well to hit the line, and we just would not go sit on the line.

“You can’t fault their effort. You could see some of the scramble plays that obviously aren’t our game, but we tried hard not to let the ball hit the floor. You can’t fault their want.”

Emma Ross prepares to serve.

Sechrist led her team on both sides of the net with six kills and nine digs, while Emma Ross recorded a team co-high nine digs, and Abbey Viers put down five kills. Hannah Wanemacher set 16 assists and served up a pair of aces for the Blue Slam.

Pioneer was paced by a combined 24 kills from Robinson and Maci Morris, meanwhile, and Haley Gleitz and Mackenzie Campbell notched 12 and 11 digs, respectively, while Mikenna Landis finished with 19 kills in the morning match.

Triton’s inability to find a rhythm against the Panthers was a microcosm of the team’s inability to find continuity throughout the season.

The death of Triton junior Cameron Scarberry shook up the entire school and the community at large late last month. A sprained IT band sidelined second-leading hitter Charlotte Morris for three weeks, and she was slow to rehab. Freshman fellow middle hitter Lexia Hostrawser turned her ankle and never got the opportunity to come all the way back, and Ross was out from practice most of the week leading up to Saturday’s regionals after the death of her grandmother earlier this week.

“We had a great season. I know our record doesn’t show it, but you look at all the obstacles we’ve overcome,” explained Perry. “This week we had Emma Ross at practice, what, two days because her grandma died. She’s gone now, and we just haven’t been able to get a rhythm where we’ve had everybody at practice, healthy to play. We get a week here and then it’s gone. We had a knee injury — Morris was out three weeks, and when we get her back it’s another two weeks to get her back to playing in condition. Lexia Hostrawser turned her ankle the last two weeks landing on somebody’s foot so she was out, and we had to make another adjustment. It’s not that the kids didn’t come in and play well or adjust, but we just couldn’t get any rhythm.”

Nicole Sechrist tips the ball at Mikenna Landis.

With a fourth-straight sectional championship to call their own, five seniors conclude their Triton careers following Saturday’s bitter pill. Alongside four-year leaders Sechrist and Wanemacher and three-year players Ross and Morris, first-year senior Tatyum Hargrave made big strides in the back row for the Blue Slam, and the team will have some gaps to fill next year.

“We’re going to be really young next year. Super young. We’re losing some great seniors. And, again, I take my hat off to those seniors because up until last year they didn’t have anybody like me. I’m hard to play for. I’m demanding,” admitted Perry.

“We’re going to miss them tons. But I’m always up for a challenge. We’ll see what we can do.”