Lady Cats pick up dual win over Spring Hill

Louisburg junior Carson Buffington sets up a teammate during a Frontier League dual against Spring Hill last Tuesday in Louisburg. The Lady Cats rolled to a 3-0 win over the Broncos and improved their record to 22-6 on the season.

It was the calm before the storm – so to speak – for the Louisburg High School volleyball team.

The Lady Cats competed in just one dual last week as they gear up for two duals and a tournament this week, followed by senior night and the sub-state tournament the week after.

Louisburg’s dual against Spring Hill last Tuesday might not seem big in the grand scheme of things, but the Lady Cats showed they are continuing to improve as the season begins to wind down. Louisburg rolled the Broncos 25-17, 25-8 and 25-14 at Louisburg High School and is now 22-6 on the season.

“The team played with a lot of energy against Spring Hill and played loose throughout the entire match,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “We made a few mental mistakes during the match, but the majority of our mistakes were because we were being aggressive and trying a few new things out. We really picked up steam in the second set and never let up. I was happy to see the girls maintain the aggressive play throughout the night.”

Senior Sophie McMullen celebrates a big point last Tuesday against Spring Hill.

Like they have most of the season, the Lady Cats played well at the net and got good production from junior Anna Dixon and senior Sophie McMullen. Dixon led Louisburg with 20 kills in the three sets and McMullen finished with 11.

Serving was also a strong point for the Lady Cats as they recorded nine aces on the night and had a serving percentage close to 90 percent. In her 20 serves, sophomore Haley Cain recorded a 100 serving percentage and also had an ace.

Sophomore libero Riley Kallevig had three aces to lead Louisburg and McMullen finished with two. Junior Carson Buffington, senior Ainsley Vance and Dixon also added an ace.

Buffington had 33 assists on the evening compared to just two errors from the setter spot to guide the Louisburg attack.

Defensively, McMullen had a strong night in the back row with 17 digs and Cain was second on the team with 10. Sophomore Erin Lemke led Louisburg with two blocks.

The Lady Cats, the No. 2 team in Class 4A-Division 1, will see their schedule start to heat up beginning Tuesday when they travel to Eudora for a Frontier League dual. Louisburg will then host Olathe North for a dual Thursday before traveling to the Emporia Invitational on Saturday.