The Louisburg High School volleyball team doesn’t mind all the winning and it continued Saturday when the Lady Cats captured their seventh sub-state championship in the last nine years as they defeated Eudora, 2-0, in the championship game at Louisburg High School. Louisburg also defeated Iola, 2-0, in the sub-state semifinals.

The Lady Cats were greeted with a great atmopshere from its fans and student section, and they thrived on it as they breezed to title.

Louisburg, which finished second at state last season, will try for the program’s first state championship starting on Friday when it faces Rose Hill, Independence and Topeka-Hayden in pool play at Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Here are some photos from Saturday’s thrilling action. Make sure to travel to support the team if you can this week. Congrats again to all the players and coaches.

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Louisburg volleyball manager Bailey Kern gets a hug from junior Erin Lemke, while senior Anna Dixon (back) shares a hug with teammate Reilly Ratliff-Becher during Senior Night ceremonies on Tuesday at Louisburg High School.

The reality started to sink in for Anna Dixon and Carson Buffington.

The Louisburg seniors walked onto the court for their final home regular season contest and memories started to rush back. Their time as Lady Cats are coming to a close.

Both players, along with manager Bailey Kern, were honored during their Senior Night ceremony prior to Tuesday’s home dual with Piper.

“It was very emotional,” Dixon said. “I started having flash backs of seeing both of my older sisters walking out on the court for their senior nights and it was crazy that it was my turn. It hasn’t fully hit me yet that my last time playing in a Louisburg jersey is coming to an end.”

The same could be said for Buffington.

“The emotions didn’t hit me until Erin (Lemke) and Reilly (Ratliff-Becher) came out to give me the senior gifts,” Buffington said. “That was when it hit me that I’ll be leaving my teammates and best friends next year. It was a special night because it was the last time playing a regular season game in high school for me.”

Emotions were all over the place Tuesday as there was a little bit of sadness, but there was also plenty to be excited about as Louisburg entered the dual undefeated in league play. The Lady Cats already clinched the Frontier League crown, and this match was only a formality.

Louisburg had no problem with Piper and rolled to a 25-9, 25-5 and 25-9 victory over the Pirates to finish with a perfect league record and moved its overall record to 30-8 on the season. It was the first league title for Louisburg since 2015.

Senior Carson Buffington gets a hug from Reilly Ratliff-Becher, while Carson’s mother, Amy, shares a hug with Erin Lemke.

“It means so much to be able to win the league title,” Buffington said. “We know that we have done everything we could have to earn it. It feels especially great beating every team in the league.”

Winning a league crown was the perfect way to honor both Dixon and Buffington, according to Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment.

“With Anna playing four years of varsity, Carson playing three and then Bailey being a manager for a while, they have just been a lot of fun to coach and be around,” Compliment said. “They are great seniors, who provide great leadership, work well with their teammates and have put it in a lot of time in the offseason, whether it be with club or playing multiple sports. It has been a lot of fun to be with Anna and Carson and I just wanted them to go out and have fun and just play.”

The dual itself provided little drama and gave the Lady Cats opportunity to play loose. Louisburg got contributions from up and down its lineup, and it even allowed bench players Sydni Keagle, Alyse Moore and Chase Kallevig to see action in the final set.

Dixon led the Lady Cats offensively with seven kills, while Buffington was right behind her with six. Juniors Haley Cain and Erin Lemke both had three kills as well.

Louisburg had 10 aces on the night, including four from freshman Davis Guetterman and a pair from Cain and Riley Kallevig. Sophomore Carleigh Pritchard, who normally doesn’t serve during a match, got an opportunity to close out the second set and she did just that by serving the final six points to seal the win and recorded two aces in the process.

Freshman setter Rinny McMullen finished the night with 14 assists and Guetterman added six in the win. Defensively, Dixon led the way with six digs, while junior libero Reilly Ratliff-Becher finished with five.

“We still missed too many serves, but at least we were aggressive,” Compliment said. “But if we would miss a serve, we would come right back and we were effective with the serve receive, then with the pass and then side out right away. I was happy with how they played and I was glad to see that their energy was high.”

(From left) Anna Dixon, Reilly Ratliff-Becher, Rinny McMullen, Alyse Moore and Carson Buffington were all smiles following a point late in Tuesday’s dual with Piper.

Louisburg will have one final opportunity to play at home Saturday when it hosts a Class 4A sub-state tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Lady Cats will face No. 13 Iola (10-17) at 2 p.m., and if they advance, will meet the winner No. 5 Eudora (22-11) and No. 12 Fort Scott (11-23) at 4 p.m., in the championship match.

A win there would give the Lady Cats another trip to the state tournament, after they finished second a year ago.

“I’m so excited for sub-state and even more excited that we are hosting,” Dixon said. “We are pretty pumped about it and staying humble. We want to focus on point after point and take one game at a time.”

The two Louisburg seniors are also looking forward to one more opportunity to play on their home floor.

“I couldn’t be more excited for Saturday with my team, who we are playing, and that it’s on our home court,” Buffington said. “We are all super pumped but we all know we have to come out and play our best and that absolutely nothing is handed to us. I am so ready to see what Saturday will bring us.”

Louisburg juniors (from left) Erin Lemke and Haley Cain go up for a block during a match earlier this season. The Lady Cats competed in the Emporia Invitational on Saturday and finished with a 4-2 record and took fifth overall.

EMPORIA – If the Louisburg High School volleyball team wanted one final tune-up before the start of the postseason, the Lady Cats certainly got it in the Emporia Invitational.

Three of the top six teams in Class 6A made an appearance in the tournament and the Lady Cats faced all three Saturday at Emporia High School. Although it got off to a rough start, Louisburg finished with a flurry of wins.

The Lady Cats won their final four matches of the day to finish in fifth-place overall, including a victory over Lawrence Free State, the No. 6 team in Class 6A, in three sets in their final match of the day.

After losses to No. 2 Lawrence High and No. 3 Washburn Rural, Louisburg bounced back with victories over Shawnee Heights, Maize, Bonner Springs and Free State.

“The Emporia tournament was an important one, and one that I was hoping would provide us with some positive motivation leading up to sub-state,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Overall, we played well. We did come out a little slow against both Washburn Rural and Lawrence High. We got behind in both matches and had difficulty digging ourselves out of the hole. We picked it up during the Shawnee Heights match and maintained it for the rest of the tournament.”

Louisburg, the No. 3-ranked team in Class 4A, had a tough draw to start the day as it faced two of the top three teams in 6A in Lawrence High and Washburn Rural. The Lady Cats fell to Washburn Rural 25-16 and 25-20 and then dropped their next match to Lawrence, 25-21 and 25-16.

The Lady Cats (29-8) dropped their fifth set in a row in its next game with Shawnee Heights in a 25-12 loss, but they were able rebound for a pair of 25-16 victories to win its first match of the day.

From there, Louisburg was able to put it all together with a 25-19 and 25-16 victory over Maize and a 25-15 and 25-23 win against Bonner Springs.

Free State was the Lady Cats’ opponent in the fifth-place match and they had to play from behind from the start. Louisburg lost its first set 23-25, but responded with a 25-21 and 25-22 win over the Firebirds.

“Lawrence Free State was the last match of the day, and I talked to the team about finishing on a high note,” Compliment said. “Any momentum we could get through that match would also help set the tone for sub-state. We played well against Free State. Our offense was consistent and aggressive, and our defense made some big plays.”

Offensively, the Lady Cats got big plays all over the floor against Free State,  most notably from outside hitter Anna Dixon. The Louisburg senior recorded a team-high 17 kills, while fellow senior Carson Buffington and junior Erin Lemke both had five.

Freshman setter Rinny McMullen set the tone for the offense with a team-high 21 assists against Free State and another freshman, Davis Guetterman, added 12 of her own.

Defensively, the Lady Cats also played big at the net as junior Haley Cain led the way with five blocks and sophomore Carleigh Pritchard added three. Junior Riley Kallevig also had a team-high eight digs in the win.

“Haley and Carleigh both had a great tournament,” Compliment said. “They both stepped up big during our afternoon matches and made some big plays at the net. I was glad to see our middle offense step up. Erin made some key plays on the right side. She had a few big blocks and attacks that helped us against Bonner Springs and Free State too.”

Dixon finished the tournament with double digit kills in five of the six matches. On the day, she recorded a team-best 72 kills and now has 474 on the season, which averages out to more than five per set.

Pritchard was second on the team with 29 kills Saturday, including a team-high nine in the Lady Cats’ win over Maize. Cain added 22 on the day and Kallevig finished with 19.

Louisburg also created some momentum from behind the service line as it had 22 aces over the six matches. Dixon and Guetterman both had five to lead Louisburg, while Kallevig and McMullen each had four.

McMullen also had a big day running the offense with a team-high 92 assists and Guetterman was second with 61.

Defensively, Kallevig had 47 digs to lead the Lady Cats, while Dixon and junior libero Reilly Ratliff-Becher had 39 and 35 digs, respectively. At the net, Pritchard led Louisburg with 10 blocks and Cain added nine of her own.

Louisburg will conclude its regular season tonight when it hosts Piper for Senior Night. The Lady Cats will honor Dixon, Buffington and manager Bailey Kern during pregame ceremonies.

Also, should the Lady Cats defeat Piper, they will wrap up a perfect Frontier League season and earn their first league crown since 2015.

“Senior night will be special,” Compliment said. “Both Anna and Carson have been a part of the program for four years, and they have both brought a lot to the program as well. Bailey has also been a great addition to the team as our manager for the past three years. It will be a special night and a great way to honor our seniors.”

Louisburg sweeps Olathe North in dual

In a tune-up before the Emporia Invitational, the Louisburg volleyball team traveled to Olathe North last Thursday and left with a 25-16, 25-18 and 25-14 win.

Senior Anna Dixon pestered the Eagles as she was a difficult matchup at the net with a team-high 21 kills and fellow senior Carson Buffington had six. Junior Erin Lemke had five kills and junior Haley Cain had four in the win.

Cain and Dixon were also strong from behind the service line with four and three aces, respectively. Freshmen setter Rinny McMullen had a team-high 19 assists and freshman Davis Guetterman was also in double digits with 11.

Defensively, junior Riley Kallevig and junior Reilly Ratliff-Becher both led Louisburg with 10 digs, while sophomore Carleigh Pritchard finished with a pair of blocks.

Louisburg libero Reilly Ratliff-Becher receives a serve during a match earlier this season. The Lady Cats traveled to Eudora on Oct. 2 and left with a 3-0 win over the Cardinals to stay perfect in Frontier League play.

The Louisburg High School volleyball team is inching closer to an undefeated league season and they took another step in the right direction last week in Eudora.

The Lady Cats had no problems with the Cardinals on the road as they earned the 25-22, 25-19 and 25-19 sweep on Oct. 2 at Eudora High School. Louisburg improved its record to 24-6 on the season and are 7-0 in Frontier League play.

Louisburg has one more league match left, which is against Piper next week, and a win would give the Lady Cats an undefeated league championship.

“We played well at Eudora,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “The team came out fired up and ready to compete, and they did a pretty good job of maintaining control of the match. We made a few errors which swayed the momentum Eudora’s way, but the team rallied back and regained control.”

Anna Dixon once again led the Louisburg play at the net with a team-high 17 kills, but setters Rinny McMullen and Davis Guetterman spread the ball around to get several different players involved.

Carson Buffington was next on the team with six kills, but middle hitters Haley Cain and Carleigh Pritchard each finished with five. McMullen added three of her own, while Erin Lemke and Riley Kallevig each added two.

McMullen also had a strong night setting as she finished with a team-high 23 assists and Guetterman was second with nine. The Lady Cats also recorded six aces, including three from Kallevig.

Kallevig was also strong defensively with a team-high 15 digs, while libero Reilly Ratliff-Becher and Dixon had 12 and 10, respectively.

Louisburg returns to action Thursday when it travels to Olathe North for a dual and then will travel to the Emporia Invitational on Saturday.

The 2018 Louisburg High School fall homecoming candidates are (front row, from left) Anna Dixon, Billie Casebeer, Carson Buffington, Shaylor Whitham; (back row) Noah Hill, Blue Caplinger, Brayden Gage and Austin Moore.

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 2018 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 Atchison. 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.

Anna Dixon and Noah Hill

Anna Dixon

Anna is the daughter of Beth and Jerry Dixon. Anna has participated in volleyball for four year and FFA for three years. She plans to graduate in December and will attend Kansas State University to play volleyball and major in Kinesiology and Nutrition.

Noah Hill

Noah is the son of Megan and Andy Hill. Noah has been involved in student council for four years, basketball for three years, football and golf for two years and Leo’s, Debate and Choir for one year. Noah plans to attend Kansas State University and dual major in Marketing and Management.

Billie Casebeer and Blue Caplinger

Billie Casebeer

Billie is the daughter of Chris Casebeer and Linda Shipp. Billie has been involved with debate, cheerleading and band for for years. She has also participated in forensics, FCCLA, Model United Nations and Leos Club for two years and Spanish CLub, TedX and Scholars Bowl for one.

Billie is undecided on what college to attend, but would like to major in political science with an emphasis on international affairs, a minor in Spanish and then would like to further her education by completing law school.

Blue Caplinger

Blue is the son of Sirena and Wade Caplinger. Blue has participated in football, wrestling and track and field for four years and is currently undecided on plans for after high school.

Austin Moore and Shaylor Whitham

Shaylor Whitham

Shaylor is the daughter of Karen and Rusty Whitham. Shaylor has participated in cheerleading, band, FFA and track and field for four years, and has also participated in cross country and musicals for three years. She plans to attend Pittsburg State University and major in nursing.

Austin Moore

Austin is the son of Alison and Tom Moore. Austin has participated in football for four years, wrestling, track and field and choir for three years and student council and National Honors Society for two years. Austin would like to play football after high school, but is unsure of his destination.

Brayden Gage and Carson Buffington

Carson Buffington

Carson is the daughter of Amy and Dave Buffington. Carson has participated in choir, basketball and volleyball for four years, and soccer and musical for three years. She has also participated in FFA for two years. Carson plans to attend the University of Kansas to major in behavioral science.

Brayden Gage

Brayden is the son of Melissa and Jason Gage. Brayden has participated in football, basketball, choir and Spanish Club for four years and baseball and National Honors Society for two years. Brayden plans to attend college after high school, but is undecided on his destination and major.

Louisburg middle hitter Haley Cain goes up for a kill against Bishop Miege on Saturday in the Ottawa Invitational. The Lady Cats fell to Bishop Miege in three sets, but finished the day 4-1 and took second overall.

OTTAWA – The Louisburg High School volleyball team was on quite a roll going into the Ottawa Invitational on Saturday at Ottawa High School.

The Lady Cats won their first two matches of the day to give them at 14-match winning streak, with state-ranked Bishop Miege next on the slate in the round-robin tournament.

Louisburg looked every bit of the No. 2-ranked team in Class 4A as it took the first set 25-22. The Lady Cats were on their way to winning their 15th straight, but Miege had different ideas.

Bishop Miege rallied back to defeat Louisburg, 25-13 and 25-14, and handed the Lady Cats’ their lone loss of the day. Louisburg finished the tournament with a 4-1 record and took second overall.

“The team played well during the first set against Bishop Miege, but we struggled with serve receive during the second and third,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “We made too many unforced errors, and against a good team like Miege, we can’t do that.”

In the three tournaments the Lady Cats have competed in this season, they have finished in the top two in all three events.

Louisburg (23-6) opened the tournament with an easy 25-5, 25-13 victory over Highland Park. Olathe West, a Class 6A program was next, and the Lady Cats won the first set 25-22 and then rallied to win the second 25-23.

Junior Riley Kallevig tries to keep the ball in play during a volley against Bishop Miege on Saturday in Ottawa.

Following its loss to Bishop Miege, Louisburg ended the tournament with a 25-19 and 25-15 win over Ottawa, and then downed Basehor-Linwood 25-23 and 25-18 to complete play on a positive note.

“Overall we had a pretty decent day,” Compliment said. “We saw a few teams we’d played before in Olathe West, Ottawa and Basehor. We actually saw Olathe West twice before and they played us tough again. Sometimes it can be hard to beat a team for the third time.

“It was good to finish the day on two wins, but I don’t feel like we really played our best on Saturday. We were missing some energy throughout the day.”

Senior Anna Dixon provided Louisburg with strong play at the net and also in the back row. Dixon had a team-high 54 kills – including 16 against Bishop Miege and 15 in the win over Olathe West. She also led the team in digs with 34, including 15 in the match against Miege.

Sophomore Carleigh Pritchard was second on the team with 22 kills, including 10 against Highland Park and also led Louisburg with six blocks on the day. Junior Haley Cain finished with 15 kills, while Erin Lemke and Carson Buffington had 14 and 11, respectively.

Freshman Davis Guetterman puts up a set Saturday during the Ottawa Invitational.

Junior Riley Kallevig was strong from behind the service line with nine aces and freshman Davis Guetterman had seven, including five against Highland Park to start the day. Freshman Rinny McMullen had six aces, with five coming in the win over Highland Park as well.

Both Guetterman and McMullen ran the Lady Cat attack well as the two combined for 109 assists in the five matches. McMullen led the way with 57 and Guetterman had 52.

Defensively alongside Dixon, Kallevig was second on the team with 32 digs and libero Reilly Ratliff-Becher finished with 30.

Louisburg will take a little time off before it returns to action on Oct. 11 when it travels to Olathe North for a dual and will follow it up with the Emporia Invitational on Oct. 13.

Louisburg freshman setter Rinny McMullen prepares to dump the ball over the Tonganoxie front row Thursday during the Lady Cats’ home match. The Lady Cats defeated Tonganoxie, 3-0, to move to 6-0 in the Frontier League.

In the middle of its Frontier League dual with Tonganoxie on Thursday, the Louisburg volleyball team found itself comfortably ahead.

The Lady Cats were never in danger of losing their first league match, but still, they weren’t satisfied with how they were playing.

“They are just a fun group and they enjoy playing together so much and I think that shows for the most part,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “When I asked them in the huddle what the problem was in the first set, they were the ones who were saying what they were doing wrong and that is good to hear them acknowledge that. They weren’t communicating as well and the energy level wasn’t where it needed to be, but they were able to fix that, especially in that third set.

After Louisburg won the first two sets 25-18 and 25-15, the Lady Cats finished the dual with a 25-10 victory in the third set to sweep the Chieftains at home.

Louisburg improved its Frontier League record to 6-0 on the season and 19-5 overall. With two more league matches to go, the Lady Cats have an eye on their first league title since 2015.

“We haven’t won the last two years, thanks to De Soto, and I think that winning league is important to the girls,” Compliment said. “They want to bring back that tradition of winning league after winning it in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and they want to set that standard and expectation again.”

The win over Tonganoxie gives Louisburg its 12^th consecutive victory on the season and the Lady Cats have solidified their No. 2 state ranking in Class 4A.

The Chieftains had a tough time containing the Lady Cat offensive attack at the net as they tallied 46 kills on the night, with 25 of those coming on swings from senior Anna Dixon. Junior middle blocker Haley Cain was second on the team with seven kills.

Senior Anna Dixon gets ready to tip the ball over the net Thursday against Tonganoxie.

Louisburg also served strong as it recorded 12 aces, including three each from junior Riley Kallevig, and freshmen Rinny McMullen and Davis Guetterman. Dixon also added two aces to her line.

Defensively, Cain was active for the Lady Cats as she led the team with nine digs and Dixon finished with eight. Junior libero Reilly Ratliff-Becher, Kallevig and McMullen each had seven.

McMullen and Guetterman each ran the offense well as McMullen notched 20 assists and Guetterman added 17.

“We played ok,” Compliment said. “I thought there were times where we just sat back and got a little comfortable, rather than playing our game. In that third set, we decided to play a little more of our pace and do more things. We were making quite a few errors that we shouldn’t make in the first set and I don’t think that our energy level was there. Even the girls acknowledged it in the huddle, so it was good to see us finish strong.”

The Wildcats will see their competition ramp up on Saturday when they travel to the Ottawa Invitational. Louisburg will match up against state-ranked Bishop Miege in the round-robin tournament that also features Ottawa, Basehor-Linwood, Olathe West and Highland Park.

“It will be a tough tournament with some good challenges for us,” Compliment said. “Seeing Olathe West again will be good after playing them close two times earlier this year, and then playing Bishop Miege is always an exciting opportunity. We don’t know what is going to happen with sub-state or state yet, but to be able to play teams like them during the season is always a plus and it kind of tells us where we are at.”

Louisburg picks up win on the road at Baldwin

The Louisburg volleyball team got its busy week started on the right foot Tuesday when it traveled to Baldwin and picked up a 25-11, 25-12 and 25-15 win over the Bulldogs.

The Lady Cats were strong defensively as they had one of the better performances of the season at the net. Junior middle blocker Haley Cain led Louisburg with four blocks and junior Erin Lemke finished with two.

Junior Riley Kallevig also played well defensively in the back with a team-high 13 digs, while freshman Rinny McMullen and senior Anna Dixon each finished with five.

Louisburg senior Carson Buffington follows through for a kill Tuesday against Baldwin.

“Our serve receive the last week-and-a-half has been a lot better and more consistent,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Reilly (Ratliff-Becher) and Anna have really stepped up in practice and have been working on that. We served more aggressive as well and did some good things there.

“Blocking-wise, they are getting more comfortable with each other, side-by-side, and reading and being patient. We are just trying to get them all on the same page. It is coming along, but we still have a lot of work to do in that area.”

Offensively, Dixon had another strong game with a team-high 18 kills, Cain finished with seven and Kallevig added four in the win. Kallevig also had a big night from behind the service line as she tallied four aces and Ratliff-Becher added two of her own.

McMullen and fellow freshman Davis Guetterman, ran the offense well as they recorded 17 and 15 assists, respectively.

“They played loose and had fun out there,” Compliment said. “We tried a couple different things with our offense. Carson (Buffington) ran a couple quicks on the inside and ran a couple more slides. We are just trying to work with our hitters on trying different things and spreading the offense around. Carleigh (Pritchard) and Haley had some good hits from time to time as well and I think the blocking stepped up a little bit.”

The Louisburg High School volleyball team captured its home tournament title Saturday for the first time since 2013. Members of the team are (front row, from left) Riley Kallevig, Rinny McMullen, Reilly Ratliff-Becher, Davis Guetterman, Chase Kallevig; (back row) head coach Jessica Compliment, Alyse Moore, Sydni Keagle, Carleigh Pritchard, Anna Dixon, Carson Buffington, Haley Cain, Erin Lemke and assistant coach Mary Quinn.

A year ago, the Louisburg High School volleyball team found itself playing at the middle school of their home tournament.

A trip to the middle school usually means you are playing in the consolation bracket and it was a feeling the Lady Cats had a tough time letting go of last season.

They wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again.

Louisburg put together a dominant performance Saturday during the Louisburg Invitational as it rolled through five matches without losing a set and the Lady Cats captured their first home tournament title since 2013.

“Last year was not good,” senior Carson Buffington said. “We did not enjoy going to the middle school at all. To stay here and win the championship felt really good. It really is exciting because the last tournament we played in we got second and I think we are just getting better and better as the season goes on.”

The Lady Cats (17-5) got off to a great start in pool play as they downed Leavenworth (25-16, 25-8), Shawnee Mission East (25-18, 25-12) and Olathe North (25-16 and 25-12).

Shawnee Mission West was Louisburg’s opponent in the semifinals of the championship bracket and the Lady Cats rolled to a pair of 25-14 victories. The Lady Cats then moved on to the championship against Basehor-Linwood, and saw their toughest competition of the day, but still won in two, 25-20 and 25-23.

“I am very proud of them,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “I wanted them to go after every match and not leave anything to chance. I wanted them to leave it all out on the court and finish it. It was big for them because it gives them a confidence boost and it allowed us to pick up five more wins and a tournament win. The biggest thing though is they had fun out there and that is important too.”

Members of the Louisburg volleyball team celebrate a big point Saturday during the Louisburg Invitational.

Although much of the day happened without a lot of suspense, the Lady Cats did encounter a some adversity in their championship match against Basehor.

After winning the first set, Louisburg built a 14-8 lead on the Bobcats in the second set and appeared as if it was going to run away with the match. Instead, Basehor fought back and took a 20-15 lead late before Louisburg made a run of its own.

The Lady Cats rallied to tie it at 23-all before they won the final two points to secure the championship.

“Teams are going to make good plays over and over again and we just can’t let that get in our head and dig a big hole for ourselves,” senior Anna Dixon said. “We just moved on to the next play and were able to pull it out.

“We knew coming in that we would be playing teams that we haven’t seen before, but we just wanted to come in and play our game. The record really matters this year for the postseason, so we are just taking it game by game and getting that record up for sub-state.”

Louisburg played well in many different areas Saturday, but its defense was a big reason for its success. Libero Reilly Ratliff-Becher, along with Riley Kallevig and Dixon, provided the team with several key digs throughout the day.

Anna Dixon sends one of her team-high 47 kills over the net Saturday.

Kallevig recorded a team-high 43 digs and Dixon finished with 34 as both play all six rotations. Ratliff-Becher also played well with 32 digs and freshman Rinny McMullen had 27.

“I thought our defense, especially Riley and Reilly, had some great digs and some great saves,” Compliment said. “The libero always controls the defense and runs that back court, but one of the advantages we have is Reilly Ratliff, who is the current libero, running that defense and then we have Riley Kallevig who was our libero the last two years. Both of them back there is just amazing sometimes because of the plays that they get to.

“Then you see Kallevig’s defense show on the front row and she gets a lot of dunks and things that trickle over and she reads tips really well. I think that just comes from playing libero before and they both did really well.”

Dixon was a big threat at the net offensively as she recorded a team-high 47 kills to spark the Louisburg offense. Junior middle hitter Haley Cain had 14 kills, while fellow middle hitter Carleigh Pritchard and Buffington each added 13 win the win.

The setter combination of McMullen and Davis Guetterman also distributed a lot of those swing opportunities. McMullen led Louisburg with 46 assists over the five matches and Guetterman added 35.

Louisburg also served well at times as Kallevig led the team with seven aces, while Cain and Dixon each finished with six.

Junior Reilly Ratliff-Becher gets ready to make a pass Saturday during the Louisburg Invitational.

“Our serving was more aggressive this time around, even though we did make some more errors,” Compliment said. “Anna was a little more consistent on her serves, which is big, and we stepped it up there as well.

“Hitting-wise, I think we are moving the ball around more as well and more players are getting more opportunities to swing instead of just setting it to Anna all the time.”

Louisburg will try to keep its winning ways going today when it travels to Baldwin for a Frontier League dual, before the Lady Cats return home for another league dual Thursday against Tonganoxie. They are currently 4-0 in league play.

“One of our main goals to start the season was to win league, and right now we are undefeated,” Dixon said. “As we get closer and closer to the postseason, we are working harder and harder in practice toward our ultimate goal – which is to get back to state.”

For a photo gallery from Saturday’s tournament, make sure to click here.

The Louisburg High School volleyball team accomplished Saturday something it hasn’t done in five years – won its home tournament.

The Lady Cats breezed through its home invitational and they were perfect as they won each of their five matches and didn’t lose a set in the process.

Louisburg defeated Leavenworth, Shawnee Mission East and Olathe North to win their pool. The Lady Cats then followed it up with a win over Shawnee Mission West in the semifinals and defeated Basehor-Linwood in two sets in the championship match.

After five victories, the No. 2-ranked Lady Cats improved their record to 17-5 on the season as they continue Frontier League play next week.

Here are some photos from today’s tournament action. Congrats again to all the Lady Cats and coaches!

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Louisburg junior outside hitter Erin Lemke goes up for a kill Tuesday during the Lady Cats’ home match with Ottawa. Louisburg moved to 4-0 in Frontier League play with a 3-0 win over the Cyclones.

The Louisburg High School volleyball team took one step closer to achieving one of its goals Tuesday when it hosted Ottawa for a Frontier League dual.

The Lady Cats remained atop the Frontier League standings following their 25-14, 25-18 and 25-23 victory over Ottawa to move their record to 4-0 in league play. They are halfway to their goal of being crowned league champions.

As much as the Lady Cats liked the win, they still know they have a lot to improve on despite being the No. 2 ranked team in Class 4A.

“Overall I thought we did ok,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “After the second set I told the girls that we were making too many unforced errors, just not going after the ball and missed serves. That third set, Ottawa just came out and played to win and got a lot more aggressive and got some momentum on their side.”

That momentum in the third set provided some excitement for the home crowd as Ottawa nearly forced a fourth that would have given the Cyclones some added confidence on the road.

Ottawa rallied from a 15-10 deficit to take a 19-18 lead in the third set and the two teams traded points from there. The Cyclones held a 23-22 advantage late, but the Lady Cats got kills from Haley Cain and Carson Buffington, and an ace from Cain, to preserve the win for Louisburg.

“I would just like to see us play more of our game from start to finish, rather than kind of yo-yo around,” Compliment said. “When it comes down to it, the girls have a way to buckle down and just finish and push through. I was happy to see them finish it out in three and not let Ottawa back in the match.”

Senior Anna Dixon gave Louisburg a boost all night at the net with some loud kills. Dixon led the team with 22 kills, while Cain and Riley Kallevig each added six. Buffington, Carleigh Pritchard and Erin Lemke each totaled four kills.

Louisburg’s Haley Cain (left) and Anna Dixon team up for a block at the net Tuesday against Ottawa.

Louisburg (12-5) also recorded six aces on the night, including three from Kallevig and two from Davis Guetterman. Guetterman and fellow freshman setter Rinny McMullen spread the offense around well.

McMullen led Louisburg with 22 assists and Guetterman was right behind her with 19. McMullen also had several tips at the net that provided Louisburg with a spark offensively.

“I wanted the setters to try and move the ball around a little more and I think that we did that,” Compliment said. “I wanted to see the middles get involved more, and as the night went on, we did a better job of getting Carleigh going more, and Haley as well. I thought Carson did a good job tonight as well and she is stepping out and being someone who is a threat at the net. It is fun to see that different side of her after setting for the last few years.”

Defensively, the Lady Cats also played well as libero Reilly Ratliff-Becher led Louisburg with 13 digs on the night and McMullen finished with 10. Kallevig and Dixon had nine and eight, respectively, in the win.

The Lady Cats will get another chance to play in front of their home crowd Saturday when they host the Louisburg Invitational. Pool play is set to begin at 8 a.m., with bracket play to follow in the afternoon.

LOUISBURG SWEEPS FORT SCOTT TRIANGULAR

Following its home win over Ottawa, the Louisburg volleyball team made the trek down to Fort Scott for triangular with the Tigers and Girard.

The Lady Cats were able to leave with a pair of easy wins. Louisburg defeated Fort Scott 25-15 and 25-16 to win the first match of the night and then followed it up with a 25-18 and 25-11 victory over Girard.

Against Fort Scott, Louisburg got a lot of different contributions at the net as seven different players registered kills. Anna Dixon led the way with seven, while Haley Cain and Riley Kallevig each added three apiece.

Kallevig also provided the Lady Cats with a strong presence from behind the service line as she recorded a team-high six aces and the team had 10 overall. Kallevig and Dixon also led Louisburg with seven digs each on defense.

Setter Rinny McMullen had 11 assists in the match and Davis Guetterman added six of her own.

In its win over Girard, Louisburg once again dominated at the net as Dixon led Louisburg with 13 kills in just the two sets. Kallevig had a big game as well with six kills and Cain added five.

Kallevig also had another good match serving with three of the team’s six aces, while junior libero Reilly Ratliff-Becher had a team-high 12 digs on defense. McMullen and Guetterman had 14 and 10 assists, respectively, as they ran the offense well.

“The team played well last night,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Anna, Reilly, and Riley did a good job all night in the back on serve receive. Davis and Rinny moved the ball around a little more, and the team was able to try a few different offensives sets we’d been working on.”