Injuries don’t spoil Lady Cats’ win over Eudora on Senior Night

Senior Davis Guetterman dumps the ball over the outstretched arms of two Eudora players last Tuesday during the Lady Cats’ Senior Night match against the Cardinals.

This version of Senior Night wasn’t what the Louisburg volleyball team had envisioned before the season.

The team had hoped to see seniors Corinna McMullen, Davis Guetterman, Chase Kallevig and Aubryn Berck all on the court together for the final time on their home floor.

Unfortunately, half of them were regulated to the bench as McMullen and Kallevig sustained injuries the week before. Along with junior Allie Kennedy being out for the year, the Lady Cats were without half of their original starting lineup last Tuesday against Eudora.

Still, the rest of the Lady Cats weren’t about to let the Cardinals spoil their Senior Night.

Louisburg got out to a quick start and never looked back in a 25-14, 25-21 and 25-19 victory. The win improved the Lady Cats’ record to 18-10 on the year.

“Eudora has been playing with some of the best teams in the league,” Willer said. “Their record doesn’t really show how good they really are and they have battled everyone they have played. For us to come out and win in 3 and get the job done, really boosted their confidence. Even when they made mistakes, it didn’t affect them much at all.”

Even though they were out with injury, McMullen, Kallevig and Kennedy cheered their teammates on during the Frontier League dual.

“It was really special,” Willer said of the win. “It was killing Rinny and Chase to be sitting there on the bench and not being able to be out there. It made it a little easier for them to see other girls step up and get excited. They were kind of like proud moms over there. They were putting their coaches hats on over there too.”

With the injuries, Willer had to use another new rotation and brought up sophomore Bronwynn Williams up from junior varsity to start on the outside. She also moved Berck from defensive specialist to libero.

Despite all the changes, the Lady Cats put together a solid match that was led by Guetterman as she led the Louisburg offense with 28 assists.

Junior Claire Brown and sophomore Hailey Sword were strong on the outside for Louisburg as they led the team in kills with 13 and nine, respectively. Junior Emma Prettyman had a good game in the middle with seven kills.

“I am proud of the girls,” Willer said. “It is a weird rotation and it is probably the most unconventional that I have ever run. They are playing all over the place, but they did a really good job.

“Both Claire and Hailey really did a good job hitting the ball on the outside. There was a point where they couldn’t really stop them and I told the girls to just keep feeding them. The team made some big defensive plays and it was good to see Bronwynn get a couple kills in her first varsity match. Aubryn stepped into that libero spot and we didn’t lose an inch.”

The Lady Cats also tallied eight aces on the night with Adyson Ross, Brown and Berck recording two each. Berck also led Louisburg defensively with 10 digs, while Brown and Williams each had seven.

Louisburg will try and keep its winning ways going Tuesday when it travels to Blue Valley High School for a triangular with Basehor-Linwood. Matches are set to begin at 6 p.m.

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