Louisburg Volleyball Brings Home Two More Victories

The Louisburg High School volleyball team continues to play well, and with the season in swing, they are beginning to hit their stride.

The girls played two games last week and took home two victories, the first being a 3-2 victory over Bonner Springs, and then 3-1 against Harrisonville.

“I think we are developing a sense of what we are capable of doing as a team,” head coach Rich Brown said. “As a total program, we have had a good week with JV taking 2nd at their home tournament and the freshmen taking third at Wellsville. I think we had some success with our right side defense and switching our defensive alignment as a team made a huge difference.”

Brown mentions a variety of different players who have been major contributors, including seniors through freshmen who have been pivotal for their success. “On varsity Adelyn Moore is taking a stronger leadership role on the court for varsity”, Brown said. “Alice Fyock has been very effective on JV, especially with hitting out of the backrow. For our freshmen, Paige Jewett and Brielle Lierz have started connecting better on quick attacks.”

The sense of capability of the game isn’t just felt by the coaching staff, but also the players themselves can feel the momentum. “From a player’s side, this season has been a year of growth, “said senior Adelyn Moore. “We have many girls that have had little to no varsity experience and they have all done an amazing job stepping up and working hard to be a beneficial aspect for the team.”

Volleyball also has their stiffest challenge of the year so far, playing in multiple games a day in tournaments and triangulars coming up. “I think this week’s tournament will be really good for us,” Moore said. “We will play very tough teams, so they will challenge us and help push us to become a better team.”

Not only has the team been winning and losing they have also been growing and bettering their skills as a whole. They are building confidence with each team they play. “After looking back at last week’s matches, I believe our proudest breakthrough moment was defeating Bonner Springs in five sets,” said senior Regan Williams. “It was a long game, but all of us girls came together and finished the game strong.”

The players also note that defense and playmaking is what is keeping them heading in the right direction. “The highlight of the past few weeks has definitely been our aggressive out-of-system hitting,” Williams said. “We had a couple of plays where a scramble defense turned into a perfect cross-court kill that completely shifted the momentum of the match. Our pin hitters are swinging with immense confidence right now.”

While continuous the team’s skills helps develop by embedding the skill-building into measurable performance gains, and playable results. “We were pushed by Bonner Springs and they are significantly better than they were last season,” Brown said. “I’m glad we managed to come out on top.  Against Harrisonville, we played them last season and it was a long 5 set match. They play defense well and made us work for every point.”

The team fell to Eudora on Tuesday night, but rebounded with a triangular victory over Girard and Fort Scott. They look to compete in the Louisburg Invitational tomorrow, beginning at 8 AM.

– Will Leach