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.

Junior Riley Kallevig digs up a ball during Louisburg’s home match with Bonner Springs on Sept. 10. The Lady Cats went 1-4 in a week where they faced four state-ranked teams.

It was a difficult week for the Louisburg volleyball team as its schedule got a lot more challenging as the Lady Cats faced off with four state-ranked teams and played in a competitive tournament.

That resulted in one win in five matches and it made it even more difficult when the Lady Cats lost one of their starters, setter Davis Guetterman, to an injury.

The latest loss came last Tuesday when they traveled to the No. 4 team in Class 5A, Spring Hill. The Lady Cats, the No. 6 team in 4A, fell 3-0. A week prior to that, Louisburg hosted No. 7 Bonner Springs and lost 3-1.

Louisburg did get some good news in that stretch as the Lady Cats got sophomore starter Allie Kennedy back from injury and gave them more depth at the net. Sophomore Adyson Ross has also stepped in for Guetterman during that time.

“We played okay against Bonner and Spring Hill,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Both teams are tough and have some good players. I feel like we matched up with them okay, but also made some mental errors that cost us quite a few points. This past week has been different for us because our line up changed with Davis out, and Allie working back into practice and matches. With the order changing, we needed other players to step up and contribute more. Adyson did a good job of quickly adjusting to the pace of a varsity match and has done a good job over the past week.”

Against Spring Hill, the Lady Cats (5-5) were able to find some positives against the Frontier League leader, despite the 25-18, 25-7 and 25-14 setback.

Senior Carleigh Pritchard led the Lady Cats with eight kills and fellow senior Alyse Moore added six. Kennedy and sophomore Emma Prettyman each tallied five.

Junior Rinny McMullen finished with 26 assists to lead the offense, while senior Madi Quinn had five digs on defense.

Louisburg got out to a great start against Bonner Springs on Sept. 10 as the Lady Cats took the first set 25-19, but the Braves rallied to take the next three, 25-15, 25-20 and 25-13.

Pritchard and Moore each had 13 kills to lead the Lady Cat attack and Ross finished with five. McMullen ran the offense with a team-high 32 assists.

 Junior Chase Kallevig had three aces and 11 digs as the team’s libero, while Quinn finished with 12 digs. Emma Prettyman had three blocks.

On Sept. 12, the Lady Cats traveled to the Lansing Invitational, where the competed in a little different format than in year’s past.

Due COVID-19 precautions, the tournament consisted of just pool play, where each team played three matches. During that, the Lady Cats finished with a 1-2 record.

Louisburg opened the tournament with a hard-fought 21-25, 25-17 and 25-22 loss to the No. 10 ranked team in Class 5A, De Soto. The Lady Cats did respond with a 25-18, 25-27 and 25-15 victory over Basehor-Linwood, before falling 25-17 and 25-19 to No. 9 Topeka-Seaman.

“I think we played fairly well at the Lansing tournament,” Compliment said. “The format was slightly different, but I don’t think it affected how the team played. We knew we only had three matches that day, so we needed to make the most of each one. The teams we faced were tough teams, and I think we did a good job of working together. Each time we step out on the court, we are working to improve upon the previous match.”

Louisburg is back in action Tuesday when it hosts Ottawa in a Frontier League dual. The match is set to begin at approximately 6:30 p.m.

Louisburg sophomore Emma Prettyman goes up for a kill during a match earlier this season. The Lady Cats won three of four matches this past week, including a pair of wins Tuesday at Santa Fe Trail.

CARBONDALE – It was a successful week for the Louisburg volleyball team after a pair of road outings that ended with three victories.

On Tuesday, the Lady Cats ventured to Santa Fe Trail High School for a triangular with Burlington and they left with a pair of easy wins.

Even without starting setter Davis Guetterman, who is currently out with an injury, the Lady Cats rallied together and finished the night in convincing fashion. Louisburg opened with a 25-12 and 25-8 win over Burlington and then downed Santa Fe Trail 25-18 and 25-10.

In its first time away from home, Louisburg traveled to De Soto last Thursday for a triangular with Notre Dame de Sion and nearly came away with the sweep.

The Lady Cats opened with a 25-17 and 28-26 victory over Notre Dame de Sion and got off to a good start in its next match against Class 5A De Soto. Louisburg took the first set 25-19, but lost a crucial second set, 29-27, and eventually fell in the third, 25-20.

Although the Lady Cats (4-1) suffered the first loss of the season, they were able to come away with several positives.

Against De Soto, senior Carleigh Pritchard had a big night at the net with a team-high 14 kills to go along with four blocks. Junior setter Rinny McMullen also finished with seven kills, while senior outside hitter Alyse Moore had five kills and two blocks.

McMullen also played well from her setter spot with 19 assists and fellow setter, Davis Guetterman, had 11 assists.

Junior libero Chase Kallevig was everywhere in the back row for Louisburg as she racked up a team-high 21 digs, while Moore and Guetterman added 13 and 12, respectively.

The strong defense was also evident in Louisburg’s first match against de Sion. Kallevig had a team-high 11 digs and senior Madi Quinn had eight before finishing with nine against De Soto.

“We were a little sluggish against Sion and didn’t play at our level,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “We did bounce back and played really well against De Soto. Our back row defense made some huge plays. Chase and Madi both had a great night defensively. Everyone on our offense stepped up and helped contribute as well.”

McMullen finished with a team-best eight kills, while Pritchard had five kills and three blocks from her middle spot. Guetterman and Moore had four kills each and Guetterman had three blocks.

Louisburg, the No. 4 ranked team in Class 4A, will have a difficult assignment tonight as it hosts Bonner Springs at 6:30 p.m. The Braves are currently ranked No. 8 in Class 5A.

Senior Carleigh Pritchard hits the ball past a pair of Paola blockers during Tuesday’s season opener at Louisburg High School.

Tuesday’s season opener was different in many ways for the Louisburg volleyball team.

Not only did the Lady Cats have to take all the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but they also wanted to make sure their five senior players and their manager were honored in the proper way. Normally scheduled for the final home game of the year, Louisburg conducted Senior Night in its opener instead.

Senior players Sydney Keaton, Alyse Moore, Carleigh Pritchard, Ali Prettyman and Madi Quinn, along with manager Wyatt Axmann, were recognized prior to their match with Paola at Louisburg High School and the Lady Cats made sure the Panthers didn’t spoil their special evening.

Louisburg took control early in the match and never let up in the 25-12, 25-18 and 25-20 victory over the Panthers and got their season started with a victory.

“You always want to be able to honor those seniors and hope for that win,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “It was nice to see them to be able to be recognized and to get a win at the same time. They had fun out there and it was great to see.

“Overall, I think they did a really good job. They played together well as a group. We didn’t have a lot of time over the summer. I think we only had five days of camp and two open gyms, where we are used to having like 20 days over the summer where we are doing things. For not having a lot of time, the way they have worked up to this point and how they came out against Paola, they played really well as a team. Even though we graduated a huge chunk of our team from last year, they still feel like a cohesive group and are starting to find that chemistry early.”

The Lady Cats (1-0) got out to an early 13-5 lead in the first set after a kill, block and an ace from Pritchard, along with kills from Moore, Davis Guetterman and Rinny McMullen. McMullen then finished the set as she served six straight points, including a pair of aces.

Louisburg had the same success in the second set to take a convincing 2-0 lead, but had a little trouble getting going in the third.

Paola jumped out to a 9-5 lead early on, but Louisburg rallied for six straight points, including three consecutive aces from junior Chase Kallevig. Guetterman provided two aces of her own late in the set, while Kallevig got two more aces as she served the final three points.

“The jitters and the nerves started to come in a little bit in the third set and we were making far too many errors on our side,” Compliment said. “We just had too many mental mistakes. The one thing we did was serve aggressively and that really helped out. Chase had a big night serving back there as did Rinny and Davis. It was good to see them bounce back quickly and finish the set.”

McMullen and Guetterman, Louisburg’s two setters, showed they were more than that Tuesday as they assumed their new role of being a six-rotation player and led the Lady Cats running the offense, along with playing well at the net and with their serve receive.

Guetterman finished the night with 14 assists, five kills and four aces, while McMullen had 13 assists, three aces, four kills and a team-high seven digs.

“Those two are so much fun to have out on the court,” Compliment said. “I love how they play together and I love how they interact with their teammates. They read each other and they get along so well. The two of them running the offense together, it is just seamless. It doesn’t matter if it is Davis or if it is Rinny, it is like the two minds out there are one, especially with the way they interact with the hitters.

“Since we graduated a lot of hitters, we are going to need some people to step up and they were 100 percent on board with what we wanted them to do. It gives us some options on serve receive and they have both stepped up. They have loved that challenge and we need them both out there on the court to set the tone and be the leaders.”

Kallevig also had a big night from behind the service line as she had a team-high seven aces and six digs.

Pritchard was a force at the net as she had a team-high 12 kills to go along with a block and an ace.

Louisburg will be back in action tonight when it travels to De Soto High School as it has a triangular with Notre Dame de Sion. Matches are set to begin at 5 p.m.

Louisburg senior Carleigh Pritchard is one of several returners who will help lead the Lady Cats for the 2020 season.

Louisburg volleyball has been a regular fixture on the state tournament stage as they have placed among the best teams in Class 4A the last three years and the Lady Cats’ goal is no different for 2020.

After finishing second – twice – and fourth a year ago, Louisburg is ready to reload after losing six players to graduation, many of which played a big role in their state tournament run a year ago. Despite that, the Lady Cats have big expectations for themselves.

With all that, comes another hurdle – COVID-19. The disease limited summer workouts and have made practices a little different than in year’s past in regards to social distancing.

While a state tournament is always the goal for Louisburg, it realizes this season may be different than others.

“As with every season, we are working to improve each day and week,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Postseason and the opportunity to play at state is always a goal of ours, and we are still pushing toward that goal. This season our focus is to take it week by week and hopefully we’ll be able to have a full season. Practices have been going well. The girls are excited to be back at school and at practice.”

Louisburg will lean on its returning starters to help the Lady Cats through another difficult schedule and it begins with the two players who run the offense. Juniors Rinny McMullen and Davis Guetterman have shared the setting responsibilities the last two years and it won’t change this season.

The all-Frontier League setters, however, will be asked to do a little more – including seeing some action on the front row.

“Davis and Rinny do such a good job of leading the team and they play so well together,” Compliment said. “They will still share the responsibility of leading the offense as setters, but we will be looking at them to contribute more as six rotation players and hitting from the front row. They both bring a spark to the team that is needed at all times so having them on the court 100 percent of the time just makes sense. They have adapted to their new roles really well and are embracing the challenge of not only setting and running the offense, but the opportunity to hit and block at the net.”

The Lady Cats will also return a pair of hitters that will help the attack at the net. Senior Carleigh Pritchard, who was a second-team All-Frontier League player last season with a team-high 232 kills, will start at middle hitter.

Senior Alyse Moore also saw varsity time last season and will contribute as an outside hitter. Louisburg will also look to sophomore Allie Kennedy to provide a spark as well, but Kennedy is currently recovering from an injury. Senior Alison Prettyman is also on the roster as an outside hitter.

“Alyse grew a lot last summer and season, and she carried the momentum and growth into this season,” Compliment said. “She will be an offensive threat at the net and we’ll be looking to her to have a big year. Carleigh also had a good season last year, and we’ll be looking to her to help lead again. Allie Kennedy had a strong summer, and is currently recovering from an injury. Once she is healthy, she should also be a strong force at the net both offensively and defensively.”

Defensively, junior Chase Kallevig returns to lead the Lady Cats as this is her third varsity season and will serve as the team’s libero. Seniors Madi Quinn and Sydney Keaton also figure to see time on the back as well.

“Chase is back and ready for her third year on varsity,” Compliment said. “Her leadership and experience in the back row will be key this season. Sydney and Madi are both seniors who will see time defensively as well. They have both worked hard over the summer to improve their defensive play.”

The Lady Cats will play a difficult schedule that currently has them playing several bigger schools and are playing in three tournaments. Those tournaments will be different as the Kansas State High School Activities Association recommended tournaments be changed to quads, which is what the Louisburg Invitational will look like.

Louisburg will also travel to Lansing and Ottawa for tournaments, but schedules for those have not been released at this point. The players also know that games could changed at any given moment due to the spread of COVID-19.

“We are fortunate that we were able to start our season on time and that our schedule is currently full,” Compliment said. “The players know not to take a single day for granted, and they need to enter each practice and match ready to leave it all on the court. This is another great group of athletes, and I’m fortunate to have quite a few returning and others ready to step up and play at the varsity level.

“I expect them to work hard, stay focused, and improve each day. We are still looking toward the end of the season, but just like every year, we know nothing will be handed to us and that we have to earn each win.”

Louisburg will begin its season Tuesday at home when the Wildcats host Paola for Senior Night. Due to COVID-19, all Louisburg teams have moved up their Senior Night to their first home contest of the season.

Student crowds like this one will be hard to come by for the 2020 season as the Frontier League announced a plan to limit attendance.

Crowds at Frontier League athletic events will look different for the 2020 fall season.

They will also look a lot smaller, too.

On Sunday evening, the Frontier League announced the member schools will be limiting crowd size to allow social distancing and safety at facility-based events due to the spread of COVID-19 in the area.

The plan features several guidelines, but the biggest announced is that four league tickets will be created for volleyball, soccer, football, and cheerleaders rostered to play/perform that night. Tickets are good for Frontier League home and away games.

Coaches will receive two tickets and those numbers could go down if dictated by the host school’s county health department.

Member schools in the Frontier League include Louisburg, Paola, Ottawa, Eudora, Baldwin, Spring Hill, Tonganoxie, Piper and Bonner Springs. Piper and Bonner Springs are forced to play every game of their season on the road as the Wyandotte County Health Department prohibited non-professional sporting events to be conducted at this time.

The new rule will also make it harder for students to come support their classmates, as well as town members that don’t have an immediate family member participating.

“Depending on the facility capacity, home or away, the amount of tickets available for that contest may be reduced,” Louisburg activities director Michael Pickman said. “The athletic director will work with coaches to communicate the available number of tickets for each contest. We will be looking at expanding seating at events to grassy areas where safe, allowed, and possible, so we encourage people to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Designated home and away sections will be identified and utilized.

“We understand that this will affect the student and patron opportunities to attend games, but the ability to provide an environment where social distancing can occur can only be achieved through limiting capacity. We will be live streaming as many home events as possible in lieu of this fact.”

Each rostered athlete and manager will be given four laminated tickets. These tickets will then be given out to the fans the student chooses. To enter a game a fan must have this ticket to present to the ticket taker and that student must be rostered for that contest. Admission, if applicable for the contest, will be charged at that time.

If the contest is a home event and the fan has a valid activities pass, this will count for admission, but the student ticket must still be presented. Schools have the authority to decrease the number of tickets as it relates to their county guidelines and facility space.

Four league tickets will be created for dance and band members for home events. These tickets can be used at home events only. These numbers could be less if dictated by the host school’s county health department.

Each gate will have a detailed roster for both teams. Any players not rostered for that night’s event will not be allowed to have spectators enter the stadium. League passes are only for administration and school board at the current time.

According to Pickman, appropriate face coverings are required by all in attendance for indoor events, as well as social distancing from those who do not reside in the same household.

At outdoor events, fans should socially distance from those who do not reside in the same household and appropriate face coverings are required to enter, at concessions stands, at restrooms, and anytime you cannot socially distance. While the league encourages masks at all times, fans may remove their face coverings once proper social distancing of six feet from all people not residing in the same home occurs and is maintained.

For Louisburg, the threat of not being able to complete their season forced many of the programs to move up their Senior Night games to their first home contest of the season.

The Lady Cat volleyball team will host Senior Night on Sept. 1, and the boys soccer team will take place on Sept. 3. Football, dance, cheer and band Senior Night will be held on Sept. 4.

With the cloud of a different looking fall season hanging over their heads, the Louisburg High School fall sports teams officially got back to work Monday for the first day of practice.

The possibility of having a shortened fall season due to the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t scared off Wildcat athletes from giving this season a go and making the most it.

All four teams saw good numbers on the first day of practice as it was business as usual for many of those squads.

In all, Louisburg saw a total of 181 athletes come out for sports at the high school level. Those numbers will drop when volleyball and boys soccer makes their cuts, but it shows the athletes aren’t afraid of what lies ahead and are excited to get their season going.

For the Louisburg football team, Wildcat coach Robert Ebenstein has 70 players out this season after the Wildcats finished last year with a 6-4 record and spot in the regional playoffs.

Practice has been similar than in year’s past, even with COVID-19, however the players and coaches are doing their part to stay as healthy as possible. That includes players bringing their own water bottles to practice and coaches instructing with face coverings.

“The kids and coaches were very excited to get back to it,” Ebenstein said. “We have a very young group and it was good to see them get out on the field and compete.

“We are following all the guidelines passed down from KSHSAA, the county and general guidelines from our school administration. The kids have done an amazing job buying in and doing what we have to do to ensure we get our opportunity to play this season.”

On the volleyball court, the Lady Cats came together to try and put together another strong season. Louisburg finished last year with a spot in the state tournament and took fourth overall.

When practice began, Louisburg had 38 athletes out for volleyball and the Lady Cats will try and continue to work off what they have done over summer as they try and make it back to the state tournament. Practices have looked a little different than in year’s past as players and coaches are wearing face masks at all times, unless certain physical activities are taking place.

“I think the first few days have gone well,” Louisburg volleyball coach Jessica Compliment said. “We have a set of volleyball skill drills and physical tests that each athlete completes as part of the tryout process. Like every year, they are excited to get the season started. I’m sure there are different emotions because there are some unknowns. We are preparing to compete for the entire season but know there is the possibility it could be cut short or we could see adjustments to our schedules that are out of our control. We had 35 athletes, split among three teams, participate this summer in a league ran out of Olathe. Playing for six weeks over summer gave us an idea of what the season could look like and how we can adapt to the new guidelines that have been put in place.

“We are still practicing social distancing so we’ve adapted some of our drills to accommodate for that while also creating a competitive environment. We are encouraged to work in smaller groups when possible as well. As the season progresses, we’ll see the biggest changes come when we have a match because some pre-game protocol has changed as well as structure during a match. For instance, teams will not switch benches at the conclusion of a set.”

The Louisburg boys soccer team is coming off one of its best season’s in program history as the Wildcats reeled off 16 wins a year ago and won a regional title. Louisburg returns several starters from last season and the Wildcats currently have 43 players out.

Along with football, soccer is considered a close-contact sport and the Wildcats are doing everything they can to keep themselves – and others – healthy throughout the year.

“The first day of practice was a typical first day,” Louisburg soccer coach Kyle Conley said. “We were a little rusty, but we got through it. The boys are incredibly grateful for the ability to play the game they love. The boys have some massive goals this year and understand what it is going to take to obtain them.

“We made the kids have their masks on during breaks and their own water bottle. This will hopefully limit the chance of COVID spreading.”

The one sport that probably won’t see too much change this season is cross country. The Wildcat runners are coming off a season in which they had a runner – Trinity Moore – take third at state and watched as the girls’ team qualified for state for the third year in a row.

Louisburg still has high goals on both the girls and boys side and the Wildcats have 30 athletes out this season. Thanks to a successful summer of running workouts, Louisburg is ready to get its season underway.

“We are always excited to get started,” Louisburg coach John Reece said. “This year is not much different because we had a great season last year and the returners are very focused on improving over last year. Once summer running got started, a sense of normalcy crept in and we started getting ready for the season. They were excited to be with friends again.

“Not much has changed for us since there is not ‘contact’ during our races. The only thing that could change is how races are started to reduce numbers and losing meets due to a large number of schools participating. We are already scrambling to get a first meet in this year. We will make it happen for the kids.”