-
Final
HAR
LOU3
13 -
Final
HAR
LOU1
13 -
Final
LOU
SH0
9 -
Final
BAL
LOU6
12 -
Final
LOU
OTT14
8 -
Final
LOU
OTT21
4 -
Final
SH
LOU4
5 -
Final
WEL
LOU1
14 -
Final
WEL
LOU2
10 -
Final
LOU
BONSP7
0 -
Final
LOU
BONSP5
1 -
Final
LOU
TONG9
4 -
Final
LOU
PIP19
15 -
Final
LOU
PIP5
7 -
Final
LOU
LAN5
4 -
Final
LOU
LAN5
4 -
Final
LOU
BV6
16 -
Apr 25, 430 p
LOU
AC
-
Apr 25, 6 pm
LOU
AC
-
Final
LOU
PV19
3 -
Final
LOU
CHA6
10 -
Final
EUD
LOU5
16 -
Postponed
EUD
LOU
-
Final
LOU
PAO4
11 -
Final
LOU
PAO18
3 -
Final
BL
LOU10
4
-
Final
FRON
LOU11
0 -
Postponed
FRON
LOU
-
Final
BAL
LOU2
13 -
Final
LOU
OTT10
11 -
Final
LOU
OTT10
0 -
Final
SH
LOU13
2 -
Final
SH
LOU16
5 -
Final
WEL
LOU3
4 -
Final
WEL
LOU6
7 -
Final
LOU
BONSP4
1 -
Final
LOU
BONSP13
10 -
Final
LOU
TONG9
4 -
Final
LOU
TONG3
5 -
Final
LOU
MAC5
21 -
Final
LOU
EMP5
2 -
Final
LOU
BVW1
2 -
Final
FS
LOU12
0 -
Final
FS
LOU14
9 -
Final
EUD
LOU14
2 -
Final
LOU
LAN4
5 -
Final
LOU
CHAN0
10 -
Final
LOU
LAN1
3 -
Final
LOU
CHA1
6 -
Final
LOU
PAO9
2 -
Final
LOU
PAO12
3 -
Final
LOU
BAL10
0
-
Final
BAL
LOU3
1 -
Final
LOU
OLW0
2 -
Final
LOU
DES0
2 -
Final
PIP
LOU2
1 -
Final
BUR
LOU0
2 -
Final
LOU
OTT2
3 -
Final
LOU
FRON INV1st
PL -
Final
LOU
BONSP3
0 -
Final
LOU
EUD0
3 -
Final
FS
LOU0
2 -
Final
GIR
LOU1
2 -
Final
LOU
LOU INV2nd
PL -
Final
PAO
LOU0
3 -
Final
LOU
SH0
3 -
Final
LOU
OTT INV1
4 -
Final
TONG
LOU1
3 -
Final
LOU
ATCH INV2nd
PL -
Final
WAM
LOU0
2 -
Final
OLN
LOU1
2
-
Final
TONG
LOU51
53 -
Final
LOU
BUR51
63 -
Final
AC
LOU37
44 -
Final
LOU
BAL42
60 -
Final
LOU
FRON57
46 -
Final
LOU
EUD46
53 -
Final OT
LOU
SH60
57 -
Final
BAL
LOU62
46 -
Final
NEK
LOU55
54 -
Final 2OT
GIR
LOU58
56 -
Final
LOU
WAM45
56 -
Final
BON
LOU45
53 -
Final
PAO
LOU16
47 -
Final
LEE
LOU71
46 -
Final
LOU
OTT52
62 -
Final
LOU
TONG45
40 -
Final
SH
LOU44
42 -
Final
EUD
LOU52
49 -
Final
LOU
PAO46
29 -
Final
HAR
LOU57
52
-
Final
TONG
LOU48
28 -
Final
LOU
BUR38
43 -
Final
AC
LOU35
31 -
Final
LOU
BAL23
42 -
Final
LOU
FRON48
55 -
Final
LOU
EUD37
56 -
Final
LOU
SH46
59 -
Final
BAL
LOU52
31 -
Final
NEK
LOU41
49 -
Final
CHA
LOU53
36 -
Final
GIR
LOU42
34 -
Final
LOU
WAM24
63 -
Final
BON
LOU35
40 -
Final
PAO
LOU38
42 -
Final
LOU
OTT29
45 -
Final
LOU
TONG40
39 -
Final
SH
LOU43
37 -
Final
EUD
LOU38
30 -
Final
LOU
PAO39
35 -
Final
HAR
LOU33
40
OPINION: Lady Cats inspired fans with successful season
- Updated: November 7, 2017
![](https://louisburgsportszone.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/IMG_9736.jpg)
The Louisburg High School volleyball team celebrated a point during the Class 4A-Division I state tournament on Oct. 27 in Salina.
It has been more than a week since the Louisburg High School volleyball team had to watch Rose Hill storm the court and celebrate its second straight state championship.
Trying to figure out just how much those Lady Cat players were hurting as Rose Hill won match point is something that is difficult to quantify. Needless to say, it was probably a lot.
On three different occasions, Louisburg found itself one point away from winning a state title and becoming in the first team in Lady Cat history to win a team championship in any sport.
The loss was gut-wrenching – at least it was for me.
If I could feel that horrible, I can’t imagine what those players were going through. I didn’t have a child on the team, nor was I there during the offseason and practice to see how much work the girls put into the season, but I could still feel their pain from across the court.
The entire Louisburg fan base that made the trek to Salina could feel it too. There were a lot of people who connected with this group of girls. They watched as these players grew throughout the season and saw the potential they had.
There weren’t many opponents that were all that excited about facing the thundering kills of Anna Dixon or Sophie McMullen, or the stingy Louisburg defense that got better as the season went on. Riley Kallevig, Reilly Ratliff-Becher, Carson Buffington, McMullen and Dixon all came up with big digs throughout the year and became a strength of the team.
Middle hitters Haley Cain and Mikayla Quinn, along with outside hitter Erin Lemke, saw their confidence grow and it showed in the state tournament. They came up with big plays against Bishop Miege and Rose Hill to help Louisburg go undefeated in pool play to start the state tournament.
Buffington also became comfortable as the team’s full-time setter as she had good chemistry with her hitters, especially McMullen and Dixon. When it mattered most, the Lady Cats were a well-oiled machine.
It was all set up to be a happy ending for Louisburg volleyball – a program that has suffered heartbreak several times on the state level. The Lady Cats have a number of runner-up, third and fourth place finishes, but haven’t been able to pin down that championship.
As bad as that loss hurt, Louisburg continues to build on its rich volleyball tradition. To finish second in the state is a fantastic accomplishment and one that shouldn’t be forgotten.
This team also showed a younger generation of players what it takes to become great and ‘Believe The Hype’ – the motto the Lady Cats used all season to remind themselves what it means to be a Louisburg volleyball player.
Let me share one, very small example, with you.
My daughter, who is in elementary school, has just started playing volleyball. She is really starting to enjoy it and wants to get better at it.
She is always banging the ball on the wall in her room or against the garage door. The noises drive me nuts.
In just a few months time, she has become interested a sport I never thought she would like. Part of the reason is she sees the success this Lady Cat team has enjoyed.
When Louisburg qualified for the second day of the state tournament, she wanted to go with me to Salina. A girl, who is normally a pain the butt to get up early for school, had no problems waking up at 6 a.m. and making the drive with her dad.
She wanted to support her favorite Lady Cats.
To the Lady Cat players – I just wanted to let you know, that even in a loss, she had a time that she will never forget. You also probably already know this, but you have a lot of other little girls around town who look up to you all and are inspired by what you have accomplished.
There are girls, like my daughter, who have aspirations of hitting the ball as hard as Anna or Sophie when they get to high school, or maybe setting them up like Carson. Maybe they want to be in the middle of it all like Haley and Mikayla, or just maybe they want to dive on the floor for a dig like Riley and Reilly.
You may have not captured a state championship, but you won the hearts of a lot of future Lady Cat volleyball players. You taught them what it takes to believe in themselves and come together as a team.
Your performance at state shows what it takes to keep a strong tradition alive.
You showed them what it means to ‘Believe the Hype.’
So for that ladies – thank you for taking all of us on the ride with you. It was a season a lot of us will always remember – not with disappointment – but with pride.
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