By Michael Buhler
TSnews
Saying that the Eisenhower Tigers had a busy week on the volleyball court last week might be a bit of an understatement.
The Tigers played eight matches last week – splitting a triangular last Tuesday and splitting six matches in a round-robin tournament last Saturday against Maize.
Last Tuesday, the Tigers downed Salina Central 25-14, 25-7, but fell to Andover Central in three sets, 19-25, 25-20, 13-25.
Kila Respress finished the night with 15 kills, while Hayden Yuza added five aces and 22 assists and Delainee Dexter finished the night with 25 assists.
“Andover Central is a tough opponent,” Eisenhower coach Shelby Allee said. “They have solid hitters and I don’t think our block did its job. That game definitely exposed some defensive weaknesses that we have been working to address.
“Overall, I thought they played well most of the time. Our middles, Kila Respress and Carly Dameron, did well. We have been working on getting them more involved in our offense.”
Last Saturday, the Tigers went 3-3, downing host Maize (25-15, 25-21), Valley Center (28-26, 25-18) and Newton (25-22, 14-25, 27-25), but falling to Derby (25-18, 22-25, 18-25), Hutchinson (16-25, 27-29) and Kapaun-Mt. Carmel (26-28, 25-18, 26-28).
Respress finished the day with 43 kills – including 12 against Newton – and 24 blocks, including 10 against Kapaun Mt. Carmel, while Delainee Dexter had 91 assists. Carly Dameron had 15 blocks, while Taylor Burkholder added 65 digs and Addison Verbeck had 64 digs. Hayden Yuza finished the day with 69 assists
“Last Saturday was a really hard day,” Allee said. “I think our setters, Delainee Dexter and Hayden Yuza, did a nice job of spreading out our offense. I think two of our losses were due to errors at a very inopportune time. We didn’t get done playing until 7 p.m., so it was a very long day.”
Eisenhower hosted Andover and Goddard earlier this week and heads to Newton for a tournament this weekend before making the trip to Andover Central Tuesday to take on the host Jaguars and Andover.
Cardinals avenge loss to Owls
The Cheney Cardinals and Garden Plain Owls made the trip to Rose Hill last Thursday to take on each other and also each faced off with the host Rockets.
In the evening’s marquee match, the Cardinals downed the Owls 25-16, 25-22 – avenging a loss to Garden Plain the previous weekend at the Coleman Classic in Haven. Cheney also defeated the Rockets 25-14, 25-18, while the Owls lost to Rose Hill 25-9, 20-25, 17-25.
“We focused this week on finding a way to score without making errors,” Cheney coach Sara Walkup said. “I felt like that was our biggest problem coming into last week and I felt like we did a much better job against Rose Hill and Garden Plain at limiting our errors. The timely missing of serves still plagued us at times, as well as some serve receive funks. But overall, I felt like all of the girls did a good job contributing across the board on Thursday.”
Meanwhile, Garden Plain coach Gina Clark was a bit frustrated after the two losses.
“We continue to struggle with consistency, and you can see that in the scores against Rose Hill in the first set compared to the second and third sets,” Clark said. “Once we find some balance and learn how to tidy up our game and control our errors, we’ll make progress.”
Kaylor Wasinger finished the night with 13 kills, while Molly Zoglman added 12 and Celia Puetz had 11. Ryleigh Stuhlsatz had six aces, while Madelyn Rolfs added four. Sydney Puetz had 28 digs, while Stuhlsatz added 33 assists.
“Celia Puetz had a good night at the net and made some significant progress in her attack game,” Clark said.
The Cardinals hosted Smoky Valley and Hoisington earlier this week and host a tournament on Saturday. Meanwhile, Garden Plain heads to Hesston Thursday and to Douglass for a tournament on Saturday.
Both teams open Central Plains League play Tuesday, as Cheney takes on Wichita Trinity and Belle Plaine, while the Owls face off with Douglass and Conway Springs.
Indians take fourth at Chaparral; Conway Springs goes 0-3
The Clearwater Indians had a bit of a mixed week on the court last week, splitting a triangular last Tuesday and finishing fourth at the Chaparral tournament last Saturday.
Last Tuesday, Clearwater beat Wellington 25-17, 25-12, but lost to Circle 10-25, 11-25. Madison Williams led the Indians with 10 kills on the evening, while Justine Berlin had five blocks and Kaylee Hampton had four aces. Callie Noland also had 29 assists.
Last Saturday, Clearwater won two of their three pool matches, downing Wichita Independent 26-24, 25-14 and Medicine Lodge 25-13, 25-15, but falling to Belle Plaine 16-25, 25-14, 13-25. The Indians then lost to Belle Plaine 18-25, 23-25 and Wellington 24-26, 18-25 in bracket play to finish fourth.
Allyson Clevenger earned all-tournament honors for Clearwater at Chaparral.
The Indians took on El Dorado and Rose Hill earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the Conway Springs Cardinals entered this week still in search of their first win after dropping all three of their matches Saturday. Conway Springs lost to Pretty Prairie 10-25, 16-25, host Chaparral 9-25, 13-25 and Wellington 9-25, 12-25.
The Cardinals took on Wichita Independent and Wichita Home School earlier this week and open CPL play Tuesday against Douglass and Garden Plain.
Raiders’ winning streak halted
The Argonia Raiders entered last week on an eight-game winning streak, but saw that streak end last Tuesday when they headed to Sedan for a quadrangular. The Raiders defeated Central Burden 25-9, 25-8 and South Haven 25-11, 25-18, but lost to host Sedan 13-25, 25-18, 15-25.
Tori Morrison had 17 kills on the night, while Autumn Coleman added 13. Kara Jones added 49 assists and seven aces, while Morrison also had seven aces. Maya Jones had 20 digs, while Abigail Harbin (eight) and Lakelyn Love (five) combined for 13 blocks.
Last Saturday, Argonia made the trip to Dexter for a tournament and finished the day 1-2. The Raiders lost to Sedan 17-25, 18-25 and Flinthills 11-25, 9-25, but beat Wichita Home School 25-18, 23-25, 25-18.
“It was a tough day and we didn’t make it out of pool play,” Argonia coach Haili Lovelace said.
Kara Jones finished the day with 37 assists and five aces, while Morrison added 15 kills and seven aces. Maya Jones had 31 digs, while Coleman added 21 digs and 11 kills. Love had five blocks, while Heidi McCurley added three.
The Raiders headed to Flinthills earlier this week to play the hosts and Udall. Argonia then heads to Udall for a tournament this weekend before returning home to play Tuesday.
Colts drop pair of league matches
The Campus Colts dropped a pair of Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division I matches last Tuesday, falling to Newton 15-25, 19-25 and Maize 17-25, 19-25.
The Colts entered this week 7-10 overall and 1-4 in AVCTL Division I play. They hosted Derby and Maize South earlier this week in league play and host a tournament this weekend with Wichita Heights, Wichita Northwest, Wichita South, Wichita Southeast, Arkansas City and Topeka West.
Campus then heads to Salina South Tuesday for an AVCTL Division I triangular with the hosts and Maize South.
Lions enjoy week off
The Goddard Lions enjoyed a week off last week before returning to the court earlier this week at Eisenhower for an AVCTL Division II triangular with the Tigers and Andover.
The Lions then are off until Tuesday when they head to Salina Central for a league triangular with the host Mustangs and Arkansas City.
