Wildcats sweep Girard triangular, lose first league match

GIRARD — Fresh off its first Frontier League loss of the season, the Louisburg volleyball team responded in a big way — with a pair of road victories.

On Thursday, the Wildcats traveled to Girard for a triangular with Fort Scott, and despite a slow start, earned a 2-1 win over Girard and a 2-0 victory against Fort Scott.

Louisburg dropped the first set of the night to Girard, 22-25, but responded nicely to win the next two 25-13 and 25-21. The Wildcats continued that momentum against Fort Scott in the 25-12 and 25-9 victory.

“We were happy to come out of Girard with two wins,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “Going on the road is always a challenge, but we were able to pull out a win against a really tough and scrappy Girard team. We definitely didn’t play our best, but Girard played smart and blocked really well too. 

“They are 18-3 on the season and a really strong 3A opponent for us to play so we were glad to get a little gritty to pull off the win. Then, we were really able to find our groove against Fort Scott for the second win of the night.”

It was a slow start, but the Wildcats were able to get back in it thanks to their efforts from behind the service line — more specifically Delaney Nelsen. 

Nelsen finished the match with six of the team’s 10 aces and the Wildcats made it difficult on Girard. Senior Aspen Coulter and junior McKenna Lohse each added two of their own.

“Some big positives on the night were us focusing on winning the serve and pass game, and buying into that need for our team,” Willer said. “It took us a little while to get there, but once we settled into that I think we were able to see some great plays made.”

Offensively, the Wildcats had a strong outing as sophomore setter Adelyn Moore led the way with 33 assists against Girard as they had a balanced attack at the net.

Junior Caileigh Kilgore led Louisburg with 10 kills, while senior Katie McKain and Lohse each finished with eight. 

Defensively, senior Evyn Richardson and Kilgore led the way at the net with seven combined blocks, with four of those from Richardson.

Coulter, the team’s libero, led the Wildcat back row with 10 digs, while Addi Mallett, Ally Brown and Kilgore each had five digs.

Against Fort Scott, Louisburg had another balanced attack at the net as Mallett, Kilgore and Lohse each led the team with six kills and Moore added four.

The Wildcats also had nine aces on the match, including three from Coulter, along with two from Brown, Moore and Lohse.

Brown led the Louisburg back row with eight digs and Coulter added seven in the win. 

Following its home tournament last Saturday, the Wildcats are in the middle of a stretch that sees them play 12 matches in eight days. It continues today when they travel to Paola for a Frontier League dual.

“This is a very important stretch for us,” Willer said. “That being said, we try to really only focus on one game at a time. This past weekend, we had all 5A and 6A opponents, followed by two big league games with Paola and Spring Hill during the week, and then we finish off next weekend at the Ottawa tournament where we will see some really good 4A and 5A teams as well. 

“While winning every game is the ultimate goal, we want to continue to focus on improving as a team through each one. We learn more and more about ourselves and the things we can do to get better each game, so I am looking forward to seeing how this team grows and responds to the challenges of this intense part of the schedule.”

Wildcats lose first league match of season to Eudora

Louisburg faced its toughest Frontier League challenge to date last Tuesday as the Wildcats hosted Eudora, and while they battled the Cardinals, they came up short 25-17, 25-21 and 25-23 loss.

“I think our team played with a lot of heart,” Willer said. “That’s a really, really solid team, and we fought hard throughout each of the three sets to compete the best we could. There were some weaknesses of ours that got exploited a little bit, but that gave us some things to focus on in practice in the following days. Overall, we battled hard and I am proud of the way we played.”

Louisburg had a balanced attack at the net as junior Caileigh Kilgore led the way with six kills, while senior Evyn Richardson, and juniors McKenna Lohse and Addi Mallett each had five. Sophomore Adelyn Moore tallied 20 assists on the night.

Richardson led the Wildcats with four blocks on the night, while junior Rylee Telken had two. Mallett led the back row with 11 digs on the night, while senior Ally Brown was also in double figures with 10. 

However, the loss was not the most important thing for Louisburg that night. The Wildcats hosted Dig Pink Night in an effort to raise money for a local family battling cancer.

In all, the team was able to raise more than $1,200 that they will able to present to the family. 

“Our Dig Pink Night was a huge success and we were able to raise a lot of money for a local family who is currently fighting the good fight against cancer,” Willer said. “We had some amazing donors and participants in our serving competition, and our surprise auction was a great addition thanks to a generous donation.

“Every one of us knows someone who has had their life turned upside down by cancer, so it’s a really meaningful thing for our players to get to dedicate the night to those loved ones. Our community showed up big time for us that night and supported us the whole way through, making it very clear that Louisburg is a special place to be.”