Lady Cats stop losing streak with win over Cyclones

By Andy Brown
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Updated: September 26, 2019

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone

Louisburg libero Reilly Ratliff-Becher runs down a ball Tuesday during a Frontier League dual at Ottawa High School. The Lady Cats defeated Ottawa, 3-1.

OTTAWA – The Louisburg volleyball team found itself in a pivotal position on the road Tuesday in Ottawa.

In the midst of a five-game losing streak, the Lady Cats had just lost a second set to Ottawa and the match was all tied up at 1-all. They could have gone a couple different directions, but the Lady Cats responded in dominating fashion.

Louisburg ended its losing skid as it downed Ottawa, 25-20, 18-25, 25-14 and 25-14, and picked up its second Frontier League win on the season and are now 2-2 in league play.

“We have had such a tough schedule, we have seen some really good teams and have picked up some losses along the way, so it is easy to sometimes second guess your confidence level,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “I was happy to see us respond and get the win. We came out strong, but that second set we just made too many errors on our side and we needed to loosen up a little bit.”

It was the win the Lady Cats (6-7) were looking for as they got off to a good start against the Cyclones. Louisburg found itself down 8-5 in the first set, only to come charging back to take the lead after sophomore Rinny McMullen served five straight points.

Sophomore Carleigh Pritchard, along with seniors Liz Jacobs, Sydni Keagle and junior Alyse Moore all provided kills to put Louisburg up 14-11 and the Lady Cats never looked back.

The Lady Cats weren’t the same team in the second set as Ottawa took an early 6-5 advantage and never let up as it extended its lead eight at one point. The Cyclones were able to tie the match, but it only fueled Louisburg’s fire.

“Ottawa is an improved team and they were able to dig up a lot of balls and it produced some exciting plays on both ends of the floor,” Compliment said. “They have a couple pretty good hitters, but I was happy to see us respond after that second set. You could tell the girls were having a lot more fun late in the match and that is what we need to see from them.”

**Senior Sydni Keagle tries to tip the ball over the Ottawa defense Tuesday in Ottawa.**

Louisburg took a 15-7 lead in the third set behind two aces from McMullen, along with kills from Haley Cain, Pritchard, Jacobs and Keagle. Senior Riley Kallevig provided three kills down the stretch to give the Lady Cats an 11-point win.

It was much of the same in the fourth. Pritchard registered three kills, a block, Jacobs had two kills and senior Reilly Ratliff-Becher had an ace to help give Louisburg a 13-7 lead. Chase and Riley Kallevig recorded aces late and Cain sealed it with a kill to give the Lady Cats a nice road victory.

McMullen was a factor all night for Louisburg as she recorded 16 service points on her way to three aces and also ran the offense well with a team-high 22 assists.

“Rinny is great as far as being a leader on the court and keeping everyone calm, but at the same time finding that urgency and drive out there,” Compliment said. “She has a way of cranking up the energy and I think her teammates feed off her. Her serves are ones that you can always count on to be aggressive and tough.”

Pritchard, the team’s middle hitter, was a presence at the net as she led Louisburg with 13 kills on the night and Jacobs was second with 10. Moore and Riley Kallevig added nine and eight, respectively.

Defensively, Ratliff-Becher led the team with 13 digs and Riley Kallevig was right behind her with 12. Sophomore setter Davis Guetterman also finished in double figures with 10 digs and added 18 assists to her line as well.