Lady Cats cruise in home triangular

By Andy Brown
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Updated: September 10, 2015

Freshman Anna Dixon sends the ball past the outstretched arms of a Santa Fe Trail player Tuesday at Louisburg High School. The Lady Cats improved their record to 8-0 on the season with wins over Burlington and Santa Fe Trail.

With no practice because of the Labor Day weekend, and a tough end of the week schedule looming, Tuesday’s triangular with Burlington and Santa Fe Trail was sandwiched in between and had all the makings of a trap game for the Louisburg volleyball team.

The Lady Cats, who are ranked No. 4 in Class 4A-Division I, faced off with two smaller, and lesser-talented programs.

As it turned out, there was no trap at all.

Louisburg rolled to victories in both matches to run its record to 8-0 on the season. The Lady Cats defeated Burlington 25-15 and 25-10 and then downed Santa Fe Trail, 25-17 and 25-12.

“Having (Monday) off, we just never really got into a rhythm against Burlington,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “We made too many errors and mistakes on our side. We were watching balls drop and we didn’t play with that sense of urgency that we need to have. The Santa Fe game there was a lot more energy and momentum and we played more of our game.”

Louisburg had its rough spots against Burlington, but it was never in any danger of dropping a set. In fact, the Lady Cats had a 17-2 lead in the second set before clinching the match.

The Lady Cats’ match against Santa Fe Trail went much the same way.

Louisburg senior Makenzie Kallevig passes the ball to a teammate Tuesday during the Lady Cats’ match with Santa Fe Trail.

Louisburg jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first set thanks to back-to-back aces from Sophie McMullen and kills from Anna Dixon and Madison Turner. Louisburg eventually widened its lead to 20-10 and easily claimed the first set.

Cate Stambaugh helped get the Lady Cats going in the second set as she recorded two kills to help give them a 7-1 lead. Turner and Dixon also provided several blocks and kills down the stretch to give Louisburg a 24-12 advantage before Megan Lemke finished the night off with an ace.

The Lady Cats dominated the net as they have done for most of the season. Dixon, a freshman, led Louisburg with seven kills against Santa Fe Trail. Stambaugh and Turner finished with six each, while senior Lauren Dunn added five kills in the win.

Junior Olivia Bradley led Louisburg with six blocks in the match, while Stambaugh and Turner each finished with four. McMullen ran the offense well as she finished with 20 assists.

“The nice thing about this team is that we are pretty even across the net,” Compliment said. “We have Lauren who can hit the ball, we have Madison, Cate is playing a lot better this year and has really stepped up and playing with more confidence. Anna has been playing well, too. So, Sophie can go anywhere she wants to and know her hitters are going to do well.”

Defensively, Dunn led the Lady Cats against Santa Fe Trail with 12 digs and senior libero Makenzie Kallevig added six. Serving-wise, Turner finished with three aces to lead Louisburg.

“Kenzie and Lauren have been doing a good job on defense,” Compliment said. “Both got under balls and did a good job of digging them out, especially in that second match.

“Our serving was a lot better and we didn’t have many errors. I can’t really blame them on the errors we had because they were serving tough. When Madison, Sophie and Megan are back there serving, I feel that we can really get on a roll with those three.”

Louisburg will be tested starting today as it travels to meet the No. 4 team in Class 5A, Blue Valley West. The Lady Cats will then travel to the Lansing Invitational on Saturday with matchups against De Soto, Piper, Topeka Seaman and Shawnee Mission West.