Louisburg has big presence at GKCVCA all-star match

Louisburg’s Erin Lemke (left) and Haley Cain go up for a block during the Greater Kansas City Volleyball Coaches Association small-class all-star match Sunday at Avila University.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2019
Louisburg volleyball senior class provided a lot of memories for the program in
their four years, but many of them still had one more item on their agenda.

Erin Lemke, Haley Cain, Riley
Kallevig and Reilly Ratliff-Becher all took part in the Greater Kansas City
Volleyball Coaches Association Small Class All-Star Match on Sunday at Avila
University as the Kansas seniors squared off against Missouri.

The result may not have been what they were hoping for as Missouri won the match for the third straight season, 25-20, 25-23 and 21-25, but all four Lady Cat players saw a lot of court time as they joined players from Bishop Miege, Eudora and Heritage Christian.

“I was extremely honored to be chosen to represent Kansas,” Ratliff-Becher said. “I loved playing with the girls from different schools, but my favorite part was experiencing this with my teammates Haley, Erin and Riley. They’re my very best friends and we’ve been by each other’s side these past four years making memories. This experience was a good note to end on with them.”

The four Louisburg seniors weren’t the only local connection to the match as Louisburg head coach Jessica Compliment was named the Kansas Small-Class Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career and coached team Kansas, along with assistants Leanna Willer and Kallie O’Keefe.

“It’s always a great honor to be
recognized by my peers and selected to coach the all-star match,” Compliment
said. “This is the fourth time I’ve been selected, and each year it’s humbling.
I always say though that it’s not about me, but about the players and
recognizing their outstanding senior season and careers they’ve had. It’s fun
to bring together players from opposing teams and see them work
together on the same side of the net rather than opposing sides.

“Having the opportunity to coach the
Louisburg seniors one last time is also always exciting. These seniors had a
great season and have put a stamp on Louisburg volleyball. The all-star match
is a no pressure match but rather an opportunity for players across the
metro area to come together and do what they do best – play good volleyball.”

Kansas took an early lead in the first
set thanks in part to Cain, who recorded a block to put her team up 3-0 early.
Missouri then went on a run to take a 15-10 advantage, before Cain added a kill
to cut into the deficit.

Lemke made an impact late in the set on a
kill, while Ratliff-Becher served a pair of points to cut Missouri’s lead to
23-19, but could get no closer.

“I was very grateful that I got picked to
play in the all-star match and represent Kansas,” Cain said. “It is an honor I
will always remember. Being able to play with, and against, people of that
talent was such an amazing experience. But what I enjoyed the most was being
able to play with Erin, Reilly and Riley one last time, along with getting
coached by our coaches. It meant so much to me to get to take the court with
all of them one last time.”

In the second set, Kansas got out
to another good start. Kallevig recorded a kill, Ratliff-Becher had an ace on
the play and Cain added to kill to help put Kansas up 6-3.

Lemke notched a kill to put Kansas
up 11-5 and Cain later recorded an ace to give Kansas a 19-15 advantage.
Missouri made a late final run to steal the set.

Unfortunately, the night for
Kallevig ended early in the second set as she had to leave with an ankle injury
and was unable to come back. Despite that, she enjoyed the all-star experience.

“I was so honored to be selected
to play at the all-star game this year, and having the opportunity to play with
a few of my teammates again,” Kallevig said. “I had the best time getting to
meet new people as well and to play alongside them representing the Kansas
small class.”

It was all Kansas in the third set
as it jumped out to a 17-10 after a Lemke block and it was able to end the
night on a positive note.

“I was very honored to have been
selected to play as I was not expecting it at all,” Lemke said. “All of us,
Haley, Reilly and Riley were excited to play again, especially with each other.
Getting to meet and play with girls that we had played against for so long was
a really cool experience.”