Wildcats rack up four wins as they finish runner-up at Circle Invitational

By Andy Brown
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Updated: October 13, 2022

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The Louisburg volleyball team finished 4-1 on Saturday at the Circle Invitational and took second overall, falling to No. 3 ranked Circle in the championship match.

TOWANDA — In its final tournament action of the regular season, the Louisburg volleyball team got a much-needed boost of momentum Saturday as the Wildcats inch closer to the postseason.

The Wildcats traveled to Towanda and took part in the Circle High School Invitational. Louisburg won four straight matches to advance to the championship match, before falling to Circle, 3-1, and finished runner-up.

“I think we had a great weekend overall and came out of the tournament feeling more bonded as a team and confident in ourselves and each other,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “Although we didn’t always play our best, we remained consistent and held strong throughout the day, not dropping a set until the final championship match.”

Louisburg faced off Circle, which is currently the No. 3 ranked team in Class 4A. The Wildcats (16-17) pushed the host team, but fell short in a 25-17, 20-25 and 25-19 loss. Louisburg trailed 13-5 in the deciding third set, but couldn’t complete the comeback.

Senior middle blocker Allie Kennedy had a big outing for the Wildcats as she finished with a team-high 13 kills to go along with two blocks and an ace.

Outside hitter Claire Brown added nine kills in the loss and junior Hailey Sword finished with six. Brown and Sword also each had nine digs.

Senior libero Adyson Ross led the Louisburg defense with 10 digs, while juniors Megan Quinn and Madelyn Williams had eight. Quinn also ran the offense well with 33 assists.

“Circle is a strong team,” Willer said. “They were ranked third in the state in 4A and for good reason – they are a well-coached and very solid team. We knew it would be our toughest match of the day going in, but we kept our heads and fought the whole way through.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to stop them on a long run in the third set that we couldn’t quite overcome. That being said, I am proud of how our girls battled.

Louisburg went 3-0 in pool play to start tournament action as the Wildcats defeated Kingman (25-18, 25-18), Winfield (25-18, 25-19) and Eureka (25-19, 25-21).

The Wildcats then advanced to the semifinals with a 25-11 and 25-15 victory over Wichita North.

Kennedy was big for the Wildcats throughout the tournament as she finished with a team-high 44 kills and was second on the team with nine aces. Kennedy also led Louisburg with seven blocks and had a .450 hitting percentage.

Williams was second on the team with 31 kills and a team-high 10 aces. She also finished with 24 digs.

Ross led the Wildcat defense with 41 digs, while Brown had 29 kills and 29 digs. Quinn handed out 128 assists throughout the tournament and also had 30 digs.

“Allie really stood out this weekend,” Willer said. “In addition to her offense, she led the team in blocks and was second in aces from behind the service line. I was also very impressed with our passers all-around. Adyson, Claire, Madie, and Hailey all contributed here and did a great job putting Megan in a position to run the offense.”