Mehlville's Hot Start Hoping to Last Through Preseason Tournament

Mehlville boys volleyball coach James Fischer said defense was the key to the Panthers’ hot start to the season. The team beat powerhouses Vianney and CBC in their first two games Monday and Tuesday.  

“We’re short. We’re not going to win a height competition in any game you go to, so I’ve just been preaching, get a touch on every ball, if it’s not perfect, we’ll work with it,” he said. “That’s how we won both of those games.”

The wins catapulted the Panthers to No. 8 in the stlhighschoolsports.com rankings.

"It’s a cool thing to get recognized, but it was nice to fly under the radar. I think that aspect is out the door,” Fischer said, adding that he expected his team to win. “I knew the team that I had coming into the season, knew that we were going to have a good team.”

Fischer took over the squad this season after coaching the freshman volleyball team last year. He is a 2005 graduate of Mehlville and played volleyball there before attending Westminster to play football.

Sophomore Ian Piskulic led the team Friday with seven digs on their way to a two-game win over Seckman in the first round of the first St. Louis Varsity Preseason Classic.

The Panthers came out strong in the first game, soundly beating the Jaguars 25-13.

The second game, Fischer said the team got a little flat, but Seckman’s eight missed serves in the match helped the Panthers, who won 25-19.

Sophomore Ryan Hoyer led the team with nine kills for the night.

See more photos on our Facebook page and check back on Monday to see how the Panthers faired in the tournament.