Injury-riddled Louisburg volleyball takes sixth at Ottawa

Louisburg junior Claire Brown tips the ball over the net Saturday at the Ottawa Invitational against Olathe West.

OTTAWA — The Louisburg volleyball team suffered a big loss early on Saturday during the Ottawa Invitational and it had nothing to do with a match.

In the second set of the first match of the day against Olathe West, Louisburg senior setter Corinna McMullen sustained an injury and was forced to sit out the rest of the tournament.

Although the Lady Cats responded to beat Olathe West in three sets, their new rotation just couldn’t gain enough traction. Louisburg fell to Maize South, Ottawa, Bishop Miege and Basehor-Linwood to finish the tournament in sixth place.

Louisburg, which was just getting used to a new rotation after losing teammate Allie Kennedy for the season, had to put one together at the last minute.

“It was tough to adjust on the fly, but the girls handled it very well overall,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “Of course we never want to see anyone get hurt, especially during the first game of a tournament. We had finally started to find our groove with the new rotation and then had to start from scratch again, with an even stranger lineup. I was proud of how well the girls adjusted and stepped up to help each other out.”

Louisburg used a one-setter offense with Davis Guetterman and moved junior Claire Brown to play all-six rotations. Sophomore Izzy Moreland also moved to play on the outside. Both Brown and Guetterman stepped up in different areas.

Brown led the team with 35 kills and had six aces. Guetterman had 81 assists and six aces as well.

“We had a few big positives on Saturday,” Willer said. “First of all, Claire Brown came alive on the outside. She became our go-to hitter with Rinny hurt and Davis having to set full-time and she had some really great swings on the outside and even out of the back row. 

“Secondly, Davis Guetterman had to set full time and continue to be the glue holding our team together. She had a long, crazy week with Homecoming and she held us all together. Lastly, Izzy Moreland stepped up as she played the right side and had a few key blocks for us as well.”

The Lady Cats (17-10) defeated Olathe West 25-19, 25-27 and 25-18 and then went on to play Maize South. 

Louisburg took the Mavericks to three sets, but eventually fell 25-18, 17-25 and 25-20. Ottawa came calling next and the Lady Cats lost 25-20 and 25-18.

Again, the Lady Cats forced a 3-set match, this time against Bishop Miege. Louisburg just didn’t have enough to finish in a 25-17, 26-28 and 25-22 loss.

Louisburg ended the tournament with a 25-22 and 25-12 loss to Basehor-Linwood.

The Lady Cats were busy defensively and it started with libero Chase Kallevig. The Louisburg senior had a team-high 36 digs and was also strong from behind the service line with 12 aces.

Three Lady Cats finished in double figures for kills as Hailey Sword had 27, Emma Prettyman had 19 and Guetterman had 15.

Junior Adyson Ross had a team-high four blocks with Guetterman and Prettyman. Senior Aubryn Berck had 32 digs and Ross finished with 31. Ross and Berck also had eight and seven aces, respectively.

“The Ottawa tournament brings some tough competition every match,” Willer said. “I thought that overall our team competed well, but we fell short in a couple of matches that I think we could have won. Finishing the day 1-4 was less than ideal, but we battled every single match and never gave up.”

The Lady Cats will try and bounce back tonight when they host Eudora for Senior Night as seniors Chase Kallevig, Aubryn Berck, Davis Guetterman and Corinna McMullen will all be honored prior to the match.

Louisburg sweeps Tonganoxie in league dual

Coming off an emotional win against state-ranked Baldwin earlier in the week, Louisburg used that momentum Thursday at Tonganoxie.

The Lady Cats cruised to a 25-20, 25-11 and 25-10 victory over the Chieftains.

“The girls played very well against Tonganoxie and we had a strong emphasis on TEAM volleyball,” Willer said. “Every player was involved in the offense and remained focused on earning our points. It was a fun match.”

McMullen led Louisburg with 14 kills, while Ross had seven. Guetterman, Sword and Brown added six each.

Louisburg was also strong from behind the service line with a total of 14 aces. Guetterman and Sword each had five to lead the way.

Berck recorded a team-high 13 digs and also had three aces, while Guetterman and Kallevig both had nine. Guetterman also finished with a team-best 21 assists.

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