Louisburg outlasts Olathe North in dual

By Andy Brown
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Updated: October 20, 2015

Louisburg sophomore Sophie McMullen stretches out for a tip over an Olathe North blocker during the Lady Cats’ home match Thursday. The Lady Cats defeated Olathe North 3-2 to improve their record to 25-10 on the season.

Having their backs against the wall was nothing new for the Louisburg volleyball team.

Louisburg features a veteran lineup that has played a lot of matches and has been in a lot of tight spots. Down a set in the deciding fifth set Thursday against Olathe North, the Lady Cats stared a loss right in the face on three different occasions.

They never blinked.

The Lady Cats rallied to beat the Eagles 25-15, 21-25, 23-25, 25-17 and 21-19 to complete the comeback in what was an up and down match. Olathe North had match point three times in that fifth set, but the Lady Cats always had an answer.

“For them to stay focused and stay aggressive was really good to see,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “We talked all week about not making two mistakes in a row. If you make a mistake, you need to come back and get the sideout or the kill and I really thought helped us in that last set.

“There is a lot of experience between the girls where they have been in a lot of close matches so they know when to make the play.”

Senior Cate Stambaugh sends a kill over the net Thursday during the Lady Cats home match against Olathe North.

It was a crazy final few points in the fifth set.

Louisburg found itself down 11-8 in the first-to-15 set. The Lady Cats rallied to tie it up after a tip from Sophie McMullen and a kill from Madison Turner.

The match, which had to be won by two, was tied eight more times. Olathe North served for match point up 15-14, 18-17 and 19-18, but each time the Lady Cats had an answer thanks to kills from Anna Dixon and Lauren Dunn.

Two sideouts gave Louisburg a 20-19 lead and the Lady Cats put it away thanks to a block from Turner.

It was a relief for the Lady Cats who started out with a convincing first set win, only to see Olathe North bounce back and win the next two. Louisburg had a 15-9 advantage in the second set and appeared to have a firm hold on the match, but it watched the Eagles go on a 16-6 run to steal the set.

“We are the kind of team sometimes where we come out strong and then we can get a little overconfident,” senior libero Makenzie Kallevig said. “We know we can bounce back together. We work together, play our hearts out and we know what needs to be done.”

The Lady Cats (25-10) got big performances at the net from a senior and a freshman.

Turner, a senior middle blocker, had a big night defensively as she had a team-high 17 blocks, including 10 solo blocks. Turner was also second on the team with 11 kills.

Dixon, a freshman, was the go-to-player at the net as she finished with a team-high 17 kills. McMullen, the sophomore setter, moved the ball around and recorded 42 assists. She also had a strong serving night as she led the team with five aces to go along with 17 digs.

Defensively, Dunn led the Lady Cats in the back row. The Louisburg senior came away with 22 digs, but also had 11 kills for her work on the front row. Kallevig and fellow senior Megan Lemke added 16 and 15 digs, respectively.

Senior Cate Stambaugh also recorded nine kills and five blocks in the winning effort.

Louisburg will try and wrap up its undefeated league crown tonight when it hosts Ottawa on senior night. The Lady Cats will honor their five seniors; Dunn, Turner, Stambaugh, Kallevig and Lemke before the match, which is scheduled to begin at approximately 6:30 p.m.

Louisburg takes care of business at Eudora

Louisburg hasn’t been tested much when it comes to its Frontier League opponents and that didn’t change on Oct. 13 when it traveled to Eudora.

The Lady Cats kept their undefeated league record alive with a 25-20, 25-13 and 25-23 victory over the Cardinals.

Sophomore setter Sophie McMullen provided with a big spark all over the floor. She rattled off a season-high 10 aces in the three-set match and gave the Cardinals fits.

McMullen also ran the offense well with 32 assists to go along with five blocks and four kills.

Louisburg also got big performances from Anna Dixon and Madison Turner at the net. Dixon led the Lady Cats with 12 kills and Turner added 11 in the win. Turner and fellow senior Cate Stambaugh each finished with six blocks to lead their squad.

Seniors Lauren Dunn and Makenzie Kallevig were strong defensively with 17 and 15 digs, respectively and Dunn also added eight kills in the win.

“We played OK in Eudora,” coach Jessica Compliment said. “They controlled the tempo for a little bit in the third set where they scored four or five points in a row, but for the most part I thought we played pretty well.”