Lady Cats finish challenging week with winning record

Junior Davis Guetterman sets up teammates Alyse Moore (back) and Emma Prettyman during a match Thursday at Louisburg High School.

Playing six matches in three consecutive days, with three of those matches coming against ranked teams, the Louisburg volleyball team was certainly tested in that short span.

As it turned out, the Lady Cats finished action last week with a 4-2 record, including a win over No. 5 ranked Blue Valley in Class 6A. They also had a pair of close matches against No. 8 Blue Valley North in Class 6A and No. 6 ranked Mill Valley, even though they were their only two setbacks.

It was enough to give the Lady Cats some confidence as their regular season is winding down and their focus will soon be on the postseason.

“Last week was a very busy week,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Between six matches and it being Homecoming week, there was a lot going on. I was extremely proud with how we showed up to play each night. We had a lot of energy and a lot of excitement going into this week.

“Outside of Basehor-Linwood, the other five teams were all ‘new’ to us this season. We saw Mill Valley once last year, but the rest of the teams haven’t been on our schedule for a long time, if ever. So seeing teams that spanned four different classifications (3A – 6A) was unique and provided us with a lot of great competition.”

Louisburg, which is currently ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, began its week with a triangular at home against Basehor-Linwood and Blue Valley. The Lady Cats got out to a good start against Basehor and held on for a 25-17, 23-25 and 25-19 victory.

Then later on in the night, the Lady Cats got the big win they were hoping for in a 25-20 and 25-20 straight set victory over Blue Valley.

“This was our third match up with Basehor, so I was proud with how the team started the night against them,” Compliment said. “We knew Blue Valley would be a tough match, but the girls rose to the occasion and played extremely well together. We found our momentum early in both sets and never let up.”

Against Basehor, junior setter Rinny McMullen led the Lady Cat attack with a team-high 12 kills, along with 11 assists. She also finished with nine digs on defense and added two aces.

Sophomore middle hitter Allie Kennedy was next on the team with nine kills and two blocks, while senior Alyse Moore had six kills and two blocks.

Defensively, junior libero Chase Kallevig had a team-high 16 digs, while Moore finished with nine as she played all six rotations. Junior setter Davis Guetterman led Louisburg with 12 assists on the night.

The Lady Cats (20-9) also got some good news on the injury front when senior middle hitter Carleigh Pritchard made her return against Blue Valley, and played in three of the six matches this past week as she continues to be on the mend.

“We are working her back into the rotation and watching her number of swings,” Compliment said. “It was good to have her back out there. Her presence helps raise the level of play of the team.”

 Pritchard made an impact against Blue Valley with six kills, but it was McMullen who continued her strong play as she led Louisburg with seven kills, a block and 13 assists.

Kennedy and sophomore Adyson Ross each had four kills and Kennedy added a team-high two blocks. Defensively, it was Moore who stepped up as she had a team-high eight digs, while Kallevig had four and Madi Quinn and Guetterman each tallied three. Kallevig also finished with two aces and Guetterman had eight assists.

Wednesday proved to be a challenging evening as the Lady Cats traveled to Mill Valley for a triangular with Blue Valley North. Louisburg took Mill Valley to three sets, before falling 25-10, 23-25 and 25-19, and later lost to Blue Valley North 26-24 and 25-17.

“It was another tough, but good night of volleyball,” Compliment said. “We struggled at times to find our rhythm, but we rebounded well and fought hard throughout each match. Taking a set away from Mill Valley and pushing the first set to 24-26 with Blue Valley North showed the level of play this team is capable of playing at.

“We’ve had different rosters and lineups almost every week this season, and each time the group on the court has risen to the occasion and played their hearts out and as a team.”

Pritchard and Kennedy led the Louisburg attack against Mill Valley with nine and seven kills, respectively, while Moore and McMullen each had five. Kennedy and senior Ali Prettyman had four and two blocks, respectively.

Kallevig had two aces and a team-high nine digs, while Quinn and McMullen also had seven digs. McMullen added two aces and Guetterman had a team-high 14 assists with five digs. 

Against Blue Valley North, Moore and Pritchard each had four kills, while Quinn and Kennedy added two aces. McMullen had a team-high six digs and Moore added five of her own. Guetterman led Louisburg with seven assists.

Louisburg had a little easier time on Thursday when it hosted Wamego and Anderson County for another triangular. The Lady Cats wasted no time with a 25-16 and 25-17 win over Wamego and followed it up with a 25-21 and 25-7 win over Anderson County.

Kennedy led Louisburg at the net against Wamego with eight kills and two blocks, while McMullen and Moore each finished with seven kills. McMullen also had a team-high three aces and Kallevig added two of her own.

Moore and Kallevig led the Lady Cat defense with seven digs each, while McMullen and Guetterman had 12 and nine assists, respectively.

Against Anderson County, Moore had a strong match with a team-high 10 kills to go along with three aces. Kennedy and McMullen finished with nine and eight kills, respectively.

Guetterman led Louisburg with 13 assists and had two aces, while Kallevig had a big match defensively with 16 digs.

It was the defense that Compliment was pleased with throughout the week and several players stepped up when it was needed most.

“I was impressed with our back row defense all week,” Compliment said. “Alyse, Chase and Madi made some great plays and kept the ball alive for us more than once. I was really impressed with Alyse this week. She’s a senior leader and has shown time again that she will give it her all for her teammates. She has stepped up offensively as well while Carleigh has been out.”

Louisburg will play its final regular season match tonight when it hosts Piper. The Lady Cats will then travel to Eudora for sub-state action on Saturday. 

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