Louisburg senior Carleigh Pritchard records a kill past a pair of Bishop Miege blockers during the Class 4A sub-state semifinal match at Eudora High School.

EUDORA – The 2020 season brought its fair share of challenges for the Louisburg volleyball team and did so before the season even got underway.

Every team was forced to deal with the COVID-19 precautions and had the idea that its season could end prematurely. Injuries then prevented the Lady Cats from playing with their full complement of players for most of the season.

“We battled more adversities this season than any other season over the past 15 years,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Between the challenges of COVID and our injuries, we battled each day on court and in the gym and grew as a team – probably the most that I’ve ever seen a team do. Many of the players stepped up this season and filled roles they had never played before.”

Louisburg put together a 21-win regular season and had its eyes on another state tournament appearance. The Lady Cats had another obstacle to face to get there – Bishop Miege.

The Lady Cats, who were ranked No. 4 in the state going into the Oct. 24 sub-state tournament, faced Bishop Miege, the No. 3 team in 4A, in the first round of sub-state for the second year in a row.

It may have been just the sub-state semifinals, but the two teams played to a state championship level. In the end, however, Miege had the answer as it defeated Louisburg 27-25 and 25-20 to end the Lady Cats’ season with a 21-10 record.

“The girls were disappointed by the loss,” Compliment said. “None of us were ready to see the season come to an end. Miege played really well. It is hard to beat a team that makes very few errors. I thought we played very well too. We left it all out there on the court, and it was one of our best matches this season.”

Both sets went back-and-forth and neither team could pull away from the other.

The Stags jumped out to an early 9-6 advantage, but was able to rally and take a 13-12 advantage after kills from Alyse Moore, Rinny McMullen and Allie Kennedy. Juniors Chase Kallevig and Davis Guetterman each had an ace during that run.

It was tight the rest of the way, but the Lady Cats had match point following a block from Kennedy and a kill from senior Carleigh Pritchard to go up 25-24. Miege, however, would go on to take the final three points and win the set.

“We’ll never know what could have happened if we had won that first set,” Compliment said. “Volleyball is very much a game of momentum, and losing such a close first set does sting a little. We knew we’d have to come back out and start the second set strong if we wanted a chance to win that one and force a third set. Unfortunately, Miege never let up.”

The second set actually started well as Louisburg jumped out to a 5-2 lead and led 13-12 following a kill and an ace from Moore. Kennedy and Pritchard each registered kills to stay up 15-14, but the Stags went on an 8-2 run that the Lady Cats couldn’t recover from.

Bishop Miege would go on to win the state championship over Andale last Friday in Hutchinson.

Louisburg played one of its best matches of the season defensively as the Lady Cats were constantly digging balls out of the net and diving on the floor to keep volleys alive. It was what they needed to do to stay with a powerful attacking Miege squad.

Kallevig led Louisburg with eight digs on the day, while Guetterman finished with seven. Moore also added five digs and three blocks. Kennedy led Louisburg with five blocks, while McMullen, Guetterman and Pritchard had two each.

“Over the past few weeks, we talked about how important it was to go all out defensively and to not let a ball fall to the ground untouched,” Compliment said. “The girls really embraced that challenge of leaving no ball untouched. Going up against a team that is very aggressive offensively, we knew we would need to step our defense up. I thought the players at the net did a great job of putting up some good blocks or at least getting a touch on the ball which helped slow it down.”

Offensively, the Lady Cats also played well as Guetterman led the Louisburg offensive with 10 assists and also had four aces in the two sets. McMullen added seven assists and three kills, while Pritchard had a team-high six kills and Kennedy finished with five.

Despite the early ending, the Lady Cats had a successful season and one that brought many good memories along the way.

“We had a mixture of returning starters and players who had never suited up varsity before,” Compliment said. “The way the players grew individually and as a team was amazing to watch. I was very proud of how this team handled everything this season. I’ve never had a season where the line-up changed every week. But due to injuries, we had a different line up almost weekly. They never skipped a beat though.”

Louisburg senior Alyse Moore sends a shot passed the outstretched arms of a Piper blocker Tuesday during the Lady Cats’ 3-0 win over the Pirates.

The match was more of a formality, really.

Louisburg hosted Piper in its final regular season match of the season, and win or lose, the Lady Cats would still be the No. 1 seed at this Saturday’s sub-state tournament. Still, Louisburg wanted to head into postseason play with some momentum.

Mission accomplished.

The Lady Cats (21-9) took care of business as they defeated the Pirate, 25-23, 25-12 and 25-16 and did so with their full complement of players – something that has been a rarity during the 2020 season.

Louisburg has had to deal with injuries at different points and very rarely has it played with all their pieces in place. Still, the Wildcats are healthy now and are ready to roll into the season.

“I am just really glad we made it all the way this far into the season,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “This was supposed to be our Senior Night and we moved it all the way up to the first game because we didn’t know if this night would actually happen. I am happy that we are to the point where we are still playing and we’ve had the season go as smoothly as it has. It was good to finish the regular season out with a win.”

It didn’t start out as easy as the final score indicated as Louisburg was down to Piper, 15-8, in the first set. The Lady Cats persevered as they rallied to take the set, 25-23 and took all the momentum away from the Pirates.

“What we said in the timeout was that we were all playing really tight and nervous, instead of just relaxing, taking deep breaths and playing our game,” Compliment said. “We did a better job in the second and third set of just playing more loose and aggressive, both defensively and offensively.”

Even though all the Lady Cats haven’t played together as a complete unit much this year, they looked strong against Piper. Senior Carleigh Pritchard has made her way back from injury and recorded 11 kills on the night.

Setter Davis Guetterman also went back to playing all six rotations and led Louisburg with 24 assists and also had 10 kills, three digs and three aces. The team’s other setter, Rinny McMullen, led Louisburg with 13 kills on the night and recorded 11 digs, seven assists and three aces.

Louisburg also played strong defensively as junior Chase Kallevig recorded a team-high 14 digs and senior Alyse Moore was also in double figures with 10. Moore also finished with six kills and an ace.

“Alyse really made some great plays in the back row and there were a couple of times where I didn’t know how she got a touch on that ball,” Compliment said. “Chase also does a good job with her defense on the left side. It just fun to see just the way they have evolved, especially Alyse with how she has stepped up in the last week and a half.

“With Carleigh back, and having Davis play all the way around again, it was nice to see the leadership and intensity that both of those girls bring to the court. Davis and Rinny do such a great job of bringing that calming effect out on the players and they are great leaders. Then with Carleigh back out there, she has a way a bringing everyone’s level of game back up as well.”

Now postseason play begins as Louisburg will be the No. 1 seed Saturday at the Eudora sub-state and will play the winner of the play-in game between Tonganoxie and Bishop Miege at 2 p.m. If Louisburg advances, it will play the winner between Baldwin and Eudora.

Miege is considered a favorite to advance past Tonganoxie as the Stags and Louisburg are the No. 3 and No. 4 ranked teams in Class 4A, respectively. Both teams are in the same sub-state and would play in the first round, just like a year ago when the Lady Cats knocked off Miege at the Atchison sub-state.

Louisburg and Bishop Miege faced each other in early October at the Ottawa Invitational and the Stags defeated the Lady Cats, 2-0. Still it was a match that didn’t have the complete cast of Lady Cat players.

“We knew going in that we were probably going to see Miege, we just didn’t know if it would be in the first round or later,” Compliment said. “Miege will have to win the play-in game first, but we know we can play with them and we showed that last year at sub-state. We were a different team than when we saw Miege early in the year. It is going to be a good challenge, but the girls know that they can do it.”

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week seven of the fall sports season, sponsored by Edward Jones-Craig Holtzen.

ALYSE MOORE, SENIOR, VOLLEYBALL

Senior Alyse Moore had a big week for the Louisburg volleyball team as it played six matches in span of three days and against three ranked teams. Moore helped her team all around the court as she recorded 38 digs to help the Louisburg defense, including eight in the win over No. 5 Blue Valley. She also added 35 kills at the net to guide Louisburg to a 4-2 finish on the week and a 21-9 record on the year.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the fall season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous winners:

Week 1: Weston Guetterman

Week 2: Lola Edwards

Week 3: Logan Faulkner

Week 4: Rinny McMullen

Week 5: Carson Houchen

Week 6: Cade Gassman

Junior Davis Guetterman sets up teammates Alyse Moore (back) and Emma Prettyman during a match Thursday at Louisburg High School.

Playing six matches in three consecutive days, with three of those matches coming against ranked teams, the Louisburg volleyball team was certainly tested in that short span.

As it turned out, the Lady Cats finished action last week with a 4-2 record, including a win over No. 5 ranked Blue Valley in Class 6A. They also had a pair of close matches against No. 8 Blue Valley North in Class 6A and No. 6 ranked Mill Valley, even though they were their only two setbacks.

It was enough to give the Lady Cats some confidence as their regular season is winding down and their focus will soon be on the postseason.

“Last week was a very busy week,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Between six matches and it being Homecoming week, there was a lot going on. I was extremely proud with how we showed up to play each night. We had a lot of energy and a lot of excitement going into this week.

“Outside of Basehor-Linwood, the other five teams were all ‘new’ to us this season. We saw Mill Valley once last year, but the rest of the teams haven’t been on our schedule for a long time, if ever. So seeing teams that spanned four different classifications (3A – 6A) was unique and provided us with a lot of great competition.”

Louisburg, which is currently ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, began its week with a triangular at home against Basehor-Linwood and Blue Valley. The Lady Cats got out to a good start against Basehor and held on for a 25-17, 23-25 and 25-19 victory.

Then later on in the night, the Lady Cats got the big win they were hoping for in a 25-20 and 25-20 straight set victory over Blue Valley.

“This was our third match up with Basehor, so I was proud with how the team started the night against them,” Compliment said. “We knew Blue Valley would be a tough match, but the girls rose to the occasion and played extremely well together. We found our momentum early in both sets and never let up.”

Against Basehor, junior setter Rinny McMullen led the Lady Cat attack with a team-high 12 kills, along with 11 assists. She also finished with nine digs on defense and added two aces.

Sophomore middle hitter Allie Kennedy was next on the team with nine kills and two blocks, while senior Alyse Moore had six kills and two blocks.

Defensively, junior libero Chase Kallevig had a team-high 16 digs, while Moore finished with nine as she played all six rotations. Junior setter Davis Guetterman led Louisburg with 12 assists on the night.

The Lady Cats (20-9) also got some good news on the injury front when senior middle hitter Carleigh Pritchard made her return against Blue Valley, and played in three of the six matches this past week as she continues to be on the mend.

“We are working her back into the rotation and watching her number of swings,” Compliment said. “It was good to have her back out there. Her presence helps raise the level of play of the team.”

 Pritchard made an impact against Blue Valley with six kills, but it was McMullen who continued her strong play as she led Louisburg with seven kills, a block and 13 assists.

Kennedy and sophomore Adyson Ross each had four kills and Kennedy added a team-high two blocks. Defensively, it was Moore who stepped up as she had a team-high eight digs, while Kallevig had four and Madi Quinn and Guetterman each tallied three. Kallevig also finished with two aces and Guetterman had eight assists.

Wednesday proved to be a challenging evening as the Lady Cats traveled to Mill Valley for a triangular with Blue Valley North. Louisburg took Mill Valley to three sets, before falling 25-10, 23-25 and 25-19, and later lost to Blue Valley North 26-24 and 25-17.

“It was another tough, but good night of volleyball,” Compliment said. “We struggled at times to find our rhythm, but we rebounded well and fought hard throughout each match. Taking a set away from Mill Valley and pushing the first set to 24-26 with Blue Valley North showed the level of play this team is capable of playing at.

“We’ve had different rosters and lineups almost every week this season, and each time the group on the court has risen to the occasion and played their hearts out and as a team.”

Pritchard and Kennedy led the Louisburg attack against Mill Valley with nine and seven kills, respectively, while Moore and McMullen each had five. Kennedy and senior Ali Prettyman had four and two blocks, respectively.

Kallevig had two aces and a team-high nine digs, while Quinn and McMullen also had seven digs. McMullen added two aces and Guetterman had a team-high 14 assists with five digs. 

Against Blue Valley North, Moore and Pritchard each had four kills, while Quinn and Kennedy added two aces. McMullen had a team-high six digs and Moore added five of her own. Guetterman led Louisburg with seven assists.

Louisburg had a little easier time on Thursday when it hosted Wamego and Anderson County for another triangular. The Lady Cats wasted no time with a 25-16 and 25-17 win over Wamego and followed it up with a 25-21 and 25-7 win over Anderson County.

Kennedy led Louisburg at the net against Wamego with eight kills and two blocks, while McMullen and Moore each finished with seven kills. McMullen also had a team-high three aces and Kallevig added two of her own.

Moore and Kallevig led the Lady Cat defense with seven digs each, while McMullen and Guetterman had 12 and nine assists, respectively.

Against Anderson County, Moore had a strong match with a team-high 10 kills to go along with three aces. Kennedy and McMullen finished with nine and eight kills, respectively.

Guetterman led Louisburg with 13 assists and had two aces, while Kallevig had a big match defensively with 16 digs.

It was the defense that Compliment was pleased with throughout the week and several players stepped up when it was needed most.

“I was impressed with our back row defense all week,” Compliment said. “Alyse, Chase and Madi made some great plays and kept the ball alive for us more than once. I was really impressed with Alyse this week. She’s a senior leader and has shown time again that she will give it her all for her teammates. She has stepped up offensively as well while Carleigh has been out.”

Louisburg will play its final regular season match tonight when it hosts Piper. The Lady Cats will then travel to Eudora for sub-state action on Saturday. 

The 2020 Louisburg High School fall homecoming candidates are (front row, from left) Jadyn Amren, Megan Foote, Madi Quinn, Alyse Moore; (back row) Weston Guetterman, Konnor Vohs, Ben Wiedenmann and Jay Scollin.

Homecoming week at Louisburg High School kicked off Monday and events are in full swing. With something going on every day this week, it will be a busy time for students. All of it is, of course, centered around the crowning of the 2020 fall king and queen. Eight students were selected as nominees and here are their names and profiles.

The crowning will take place on Friday before the Wildcats’ home football game with Ottawa. Kickoff for that game is set for 7 p.m., with the crowning to take place at 6:30. Good luck to all the participants and make sure to come out on Friday to support the Wildcat football team if you have the opportunity.

Jadyn Amren

Jadyn is the daughter of Mark and Carmen Amren. She has been involved with choir for four years. Jadyn has participated in cheerleading, FFA, FBLA and National Honor Society for two years. She also was a member of FCCLA for one year. Following graduation, Jadyn plans to attend Missouri State and major in nursing.

Weston Guetterman

Weston is the son of Mike and Jodi Guetterman. Weston has been involved for football, basketball and FFA for four years. He was also a member of the baseball team for two years and track for one year. After graduation, Weston plans to attend college and major in Ag Business.

Megan Foote

Megan is the daughter of Jim and Dana Foote. Megan has participated in basketball for four years, FBLA for three years, National Honor Society, choir and cross country for two years. She has also been a member of the Louisburg Interact Club and softball team for one year. After graduation, Megan plans to go to college and major in psychology or nurse anesthesia.

Konnor Vohs

Konnor is the son of Kevin and Cassi Vohs. Konnor has participated in football, basketball and FFA for four years. He has also been a member of National Honor Society and the baseball team for two years. Following graduation, Konnor plans to attend college and major in business and will shoot competitive shotguns.

Madi Quinn

Madi is the daughter of Danny and Mary Quinn. Madi has participated in volleyball, basketball, softball, student council and band for four years. She has been a member of choir/select choir for three years, along with a member of FBLA, forensics and National Honor Society for two years. Madi is has also been in the Interact Club and debate for one year. Following graduation, Madi will attend Kansas University and major in exercise science.

Ben Wiedenmann

Ben is the son of Bill and Vickie Wiedenmann. Ben has been a member of the football, wrestling and track teams for four years. He has also been a part of student council for four years. After graduation, Ben plans to attend college and is undecided on his choice.

Alyse Moore

Alyse is the daughter of Tommy and Alison Moore. Alyse has been a member of the volleyball and basketball teams for four years and has also participated in choir, the musical and student council for four years. She has been a part of the track team for three years and softball for two years. She has also been a member of National Honor Society for two years and band and FFA for one year. Following graduation, Alyse plans to attend college to continue her athletic and academic career.

Jay Scollin

Jay is the son of Jason and Kashena Scollin. Jay has been a member of the football, track and chess club for four years. He has participated in FBLA and boys volleyball for three years, along with National Honor Society an yearbook for two years. He was a member of student council, the basketball team and debate and forensics for one year. Following graduation, Jay plans to attend the University of Central Missouri and major in safety management.

Louisburg senior Ali Prettyman goes up for a kill during a match earlier this season. The Lady Cats went 3-0 during last week’s action on the road.

During Tuesday’s Frontier League match at Eudora, the Louisburg volleyball faced adversity early on.

The Lady Cats lost the first set, 25-13, and were all of a sudden behind to the No. 5 team in the state. However, No. 4 Louisburg bounced back in a big way against the Cardinals.

Louisburg won three straight sets, 25-20, 25-18 and 25-19, to pull away and secure what was a big road win to start their week.

Two days later, the Lady Cats picked up two more wins on the road as they rolled Topeka High 25-13 and 25-17 and followed it up with a 25-12 and 25-14 victory over Junction City in a triangular at Topeka High School.

Against Eudora, Louisburg (16-7) struggled to find much energy early on, but the early loss seemed to wake them up as it controlled the rest of the match.

“I thought we responded really well after the first set,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “We found some energy that was much needed and we carried that level of energy throughout the match.”

Setters Rinny McMullen and Davis Guetterman got all of their hitters involved, and also got involved themselves at the net at times. The Lady Cats registered 45 kills and did so with their top hitter – Carleigh Pritchard – who is still out with an injury.

Along with her team-high 19 assists, McMullen also had a team-best 12 kills on the night and Guetterman tallied 18 assists. Sophomores Allie Kennedy and Emma Prettyman were also a presence at the night with eight kills each and five blocks between the two players.

Seniors Alyse Moore, Ali Prettyman and sophomore Adyson Ross each had five kills.

“Rinny and Davis continued to do a good job of managing the offense and that evening it really showed how well they run the offense,” Compliment said. “Carleigh amounts for a large portion of our offense, and without her we needed others to step up. Rinny and Davis moved the ball around well to the other hitters, and they in turn stayed aggressive at the net.”

The Lady Cats were also strong behind the service line as they had eight aces, including two each from McMullen, Guetterman and junior Chase Kallevig.

Kallevig also led the Louisburg defense with a team-high 17 digs and Moore finished with 12. McMullen and Guetterman both had 10.

On Thursday, the Lady Cats traveled to Topeka and weren’t challenged in the pair of wins over Class 6A programs.

“We did a good job of playing each match all the way through without many changes in momentum,” Compliment said. “If we lost the serve, we did a good job of siding out quickly and regaining the serve.”

Louisburg will try and keep its winning ways going beginning today in what is a busy week for the program. The Lady Cats will host Basehor-Linwood and Blue Valley in a triangular at 4:30 p.m. tonight, and then will travel to Mill Valley tomorrow for a triangular with Blue Valley North.

The Lady Cats will then host Anderson County and Wamego on Thursday.

Louisburg senior Madi Quinn stretches out to keep the ball in play during a home game earlier this season.

It was an up and down week for the Louisburg volleyball team that started with a pair of league wins over Baldwin and Tonganoxie.

Unfortunately for the Lady Cats, they struggled at times Saturday during a quadrangular at the Ottawa Invitational. Louisburg opened with a 2-1 loss to Ottawa and then fell to Bishop Miege, 2-0.

The Lady Cats salvaged their Saturday as they ended the day with a convincing 2-0 win over Basehor-Linwood.

Louisburg, which is now 13-7 on the season, has been forced to play with different lineups throughout the season due to injuries and it continued last week. Senior Carleigh Pritchard, the team’s leader in kills, was out of action to do an injury just days after the Lady Cats became healthy again.

Baldwin was the first team the Lady Cats saw with that new lineup and it went well as the Lady Cats rolled to a 25-18, 25-21 and 25-12 victory.

Junior setter Rinny McMullen stepped up in Pritchard’s absence as she finished with a team-high 14 kills and sophomore middle hitter Allie Kennedy finished with nine. Senior Alyse Moore was also strong at the net with seven kills.

Serving was also key factor in the win as the Lady Cats recorded eight aces, including four from junior setter Davis Guetterman and two from junior libero Chase Kallevig. Guetterman also had a team-high 14 assists and McMullen tallied 13 of her own.

Sophomore Emma Prettyman and McMullen tied for a team-high two blocks on defense, while Guetterman led the way with 16 digs and Kallevig finished with 12. Senior Madi Quinn and Moore added seven and six digs, respectively.

“I thought the team played really well against Baldwin,” Compliment said. “This has been a season where our lineup and roster has changed almost weekly. I was proud of how the players adjusted and stepped up again this week. We did a great job of keeping up our pace and speed of the game.”

The Lady Cats continued their strong play Thursday when they hosted Tonganoxie and they took care of business in a 25-10, 25-9 and 25-12 victory.

Serving was a focus of the Lady Cats’ against Chieftains and it showed as they tallied 13 aces, including five from Kallevig and four more from Kennedy. McMullen added three in the win.

“We focused on minimizing our errors while increasing the aggressiveness of our serves,” Compliment said. “They set individual goals for the night in regard to serving, and they did a good job of reaching those goals.”

At the net, McMullen and Kennedy led the attack for Louisburg. Kennedy had a team-high 14 kills and McMullen finished with 10. Guetterman led the Lady Cats offense with 15 assists and McMullen had 11.

Defensively, Ali Prettyman and Emma Prettyman each added two blocks, while Kallevig and Moore had 12 and 10 digs, respectively.

“I thought Emma did a great job again this week,” Compliment said. “She had some great hits along the net and continues to improve each week. Carleigh tends to carry a larger load or our offense, so the other players needed to step up and contribute more offensively. I thought the team as a whole responded well.”

On Saturday, the Lady Cats got off to a good start as they won the first set from Ottawa, 25-21. Unfortunately, the Cyclones roared back to take the next two – 25-13 and 25-22.

Louisburg then faced off with Bishop Miege and the Lady Cats hung tough in a first set defeat, 25-21. However, Miege took control in the second, and won the match, 25-14.

The Lady Cats ended their day on a positive note as they swept Basehor-Linwood in their final match, 25-21 and 25-18.

Louisburg returns to action tonight when the Lady Cats travel to Eudora for a Frontier League dual.

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week four of the fall sports season, sponsored by Louisburg Family Dental.

RINNY MCMULLEN, JUNIOR, VOLLEYBALL

Louisburg junior Rinny McMullen was a big spark in helping the Lady Cat volleyball team to five straight wins last week. McMullen, one of the team’s setters, finished the week with 78 assists, 41 kills, 22 digs and nine aces as she helped the Lady Cats to an 11-5 record on the year.

The athlete of the week award is announced every Wednesday morning during the fall season and the winner is selected by Louisburg Sports Zone with the help of nominations from coaches.

Previous winners:

Week 1: Weston Guetterman

Week 2: Lola Edwards

Week 3: Logan Faulkner

Louisburg sophomore Allie Kennedy rises up to hit the ball over the defense during a match earlier this season. The Lady Cats defeated Shawnee Mission South and Leavenworth on Saturday to earn their fifth straight win.

This year’s version of the Louisburg Invitational wasn’t the same as many of the Lady Cats are accustomed to competing.

Actually, it was quite different.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, and other teams backing out of the tournament, it ended up being two triangulars and Louisburg hosted Shawnee Mission South and Leavenworth in the LHS gymnasium.

Although it wasn’t the tournament format they were hoping for, the Lady Cats still took care of business as they defeated Shawnee Mission South 25-15 and 25-13, and then topped Leavenworth 25-18 and 25-20.

“This season has definitely looked different and Saturdays are definitely different this year,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “In the past, we had five or six matches per tournament and this year we are playing either two or three. We had teams drop out from our tournament so it was disappointing to only play two matches, but we are also grateful for any matches that we are able to get in.”

In their first match against Shawnee Mission South, the Lady Cats held a 13-11 lead in the first set and then went on a run to pull away. Louisburg (10-5) went on a mini 7-3 run thanks to two aces from setter Davis Guetterman and a pair of kills from setter Rinny McMullen.

McMullen finished out the first set as she recorded a kill and a pair of aces to complete the 25-15 victory.

Louisburg took control of the second set early as the Lady Cats jumped out to an 11-3 advantage. The Lady Cats got two aces each from Guetterman and libero Chase Kallevig, along with with kills from McMullen and middle hitters Carleigh Pritchard and Allie Kennedy.

The Lady Cats then ended on an 8-1 spurt after Guetterman served six straight points, including four aces. McMullen added a pair of kills to seal the win for Louisburg.

Against Leavenworth, Louisburg once again got out to a quick start as it took a 15-7 lead thanks to kills from Kennedy, Pritchard, outside hitter Alyse Moore and aces from Guetterman and McMullen.

In the second set, Leavenworth made it a little tighter as it was tied at 12-all before Moore provided two kills and Kennedy recorded a block to put the Lady Cats up 17-13. Emma Prettyman and Ali Prettyman had kills at the end of the second set to help Louisburg pull away.

“We struggled on Saturday to find our rhythm at times, and we are working on ways to increase our enthusiasm and energy on the court,” Compliment said. “We are continuing to see players step up and improve week to week, which is exciting.”

It was the Lady Cats’ fifth straight victory after coming off a tough stretch of games that left them at .500 earlier in the season.

“Wins are always nice to get, but sometimes we can learn more with the losses,” Compliment said. “However, right now these wins should help build some confidence for the players and for the team as a whole. We have another long week ahead with two league matches and a quadrangular on Saturday.”

Louisburg will try and keep its five-match winning streak alive today when the Lady Cats travel to Baldwin for a Frontier League matchup. Varsity is set to begin at approximately 6:30 p.m.

Louisburg senior Ali Prettyman goes up for a kill during Tuesday’s home league match against Ottawa.

After a difficult week that saw the Louisburg volleyball team come up short in four of its last five matches, things began to take a turn for the better this week for the Lady Cats.

Louisburg got back on the winning track with a 3-1 victory over Ottawa in a Frontier League dual on Tuesday, and then followed it up with a pair of easy victories Thursday against Fort Scott and Girard.

Tuesday’s game against Ottawa was the starting point in the 25-19, 25-17, 24-26 and 25-22 victory in which the Lady Cats had to overcome a little adversity. After the Cyclones won the third set, they appeared they were going to force a deciding fifth set.

Ottawa went on a 12-2 run to take a 19-14 advantage in that fourth set, but Louisburg dug deep as senior Ali Prettyman and sophomore Adyson Ross provided big kills to tie the match at 22-all. Sophomore Allie Kennedy gave Louisburg the lead with a kill of her own and then senior Carleigh Pritchard added back-to-back kills to ice the match.

“Overall I think we played well against Ottawa,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Ottawa is a good team, and they weren’t going to give us anything easy. We needed to earn each point. All of the players stepped up at crucial points during the match and contributed.”

Louisburg (8-5) got production from up and down its lineup as the Lady Cats got kills from seven different players and Pritchard led the way with a team-high 17 kills and four blocks. Senior Alyse Moore tallied 13 kills, while junior Rinny McMullen and Kennedy each had 12 and 10, respectively.

Ali Prettyman had six kills, Ross finished with five and Emma Prettyman ended with two. Kennedy also had four blocks, while Ali Prettyman and Moore finished with two.

However, the offense all got going thanks to McMullen. The junior setter had a team-high 46 assists and also had nine digs.

Juinior libero Chase Kallevig led the way defensively with 23 digs, Moore had 16 and senior Madi Quinn added 13. Senior defensive player Sydney Keaton finished with seven digs.

Louisburg was able to field its full roster for the first time this season on Thursday when the Lady Cats traveled to Fort Scott. Setter Davis Guetterman returned from injury and they had a complete lineup for their 25-17, 25-16 win over Fort Scott and the 25-21 and 25-20 win over Girard.

“The players have been very good about stepping in and adjusting to any changes,” Compliment said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to find some consistency which I think we help eliminate some of the communication errors we have from time to time.”

The Lady Cats return to action Saturday when they host Shawnee Mission South and Leavenworth in a triangular in what was supposed to be the Louisburg Invitational. Due to cancellations, it turned into two triangulars instead of a tournament.

Louisburg will face off with Shawnee Mission South at 8 a.m., and follow up with Leavenworth at 10.