Louisburg’s Erin Lemke (left) and Haley Cain go up for a block during the Greater Kansas City Volleyball Coaches Association small-class all-star match Sunday at Avila University.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2019
Louisburg volleyball senior class provided a lot of memories for the program in
their four years, but many of them still had one more item on their agenda.

Erin Lemke, Haley Cain, Riley
Kallevig and Reilly Ratliff-Becher all took part in the Greater Kansas City
Volleyball Coaches Association Small Class All-Star Match on Sunday at Avila
University as the Kansas seniors squared off against Missouri.

The result may not have been what they were hoping for as Missouri won the match for the third straight season, 25-20, 25-23 and 21-25, but all four Lady Cat players saw a lot of court time as they joined players from Bishop Miege, Eudora and Heritage Christian.

“I was extremely honored to be chosen to represent Kansas,” Ratliff-Becher said. “I loved playing with the girls from different schools, but my favorite part was experiencing this with my teammates Haley, Erin and Riley. They’re my very best friends and we’ve been by each other’s side these past four years making memories. This experience was a good note to end on with them.”

The four Louisburg seniors weren’t the only local connection to the match as Louisburg head coach Jessica Compliment was named the Kansas Small-Class Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career and coached team Kansas, along with assistants Leanna Willer and Kallie O’Keefe.

“It’s always a great honor to be
recognized by my peers and selected to coach the all-star match,” Compliment
said. “This is the fourth time I’ve been selected, and each year it’s humbling.
I always say though that it’s not about me, but about the players and
recognizing their outstanding senior season and careers they’ve had. It’s fun
to bring together players from opposing teams and see them work
together on the same side of the net rather than opposing sides.

“Having the opportunity to coach the
Louisburg seniors one last time is also always exciting. These seniors had a
great season and have put a stamp on Louisburg volleyball. The all-star match
is a no pressure match but rather an opportunity for players across the
metro area to come together and do what they do best – play good volleyball.”

Kansas took an early lead in the first
set thanks in part to Cain, who recorded a block to put her team up 3-0 early.
Missouri then went on a run to take a 15-10 advantage, before Cain added a kill
to cut into the deficit.

Lemke made an impact late in the set on a
kill, while Ratliff-Becher served a pair of points to cut Missouri’s lead to
23-19, but could get no closer.

“I was very grateful that I got picked to
play in the all-star match and represent Kansas,” Cain said. “It is an honor I
will always remember. Being able to play with, and against, people of that
talent was such an amazing experience. But what I enjoyed the most was being
able to play with Erin, Reilly and Riley one last time, along with getting
coached by our coaches. It meant so much to me to get to take the court with
all of them one last time.”

In the second set, Kansas got out
to another good start. Kallevig recorded a kill, Ratliff-Becher had an ace on
the play and Cain added to kill to help put Kansas up 6-3.

Lemke notched a kill to put Kansas
up 11-5 and Cain later recorded an ace to give Kansas a 19-15 advantage.
Missouri made a late final run to steal the set.

Unfortunately, the night for
Kallevig ended early in the second set as she had to leave with an ankle injury
and was unable to come back. Despite that, she enjoyed the all-star experience.

“I was so honored to be selected
to play at the all-star game this year, and having the opportunity to play with
a few of my teammates again,” Kallevig said. “I had the best time getting to
meet new people as well and to play alongside them representing the Kansas
small class.”

It was all Kansas in the third set
as it jumped out to a 17-10 after a Lemke block and it was able to end the
night on a positive note.

“I was very honored to have been
selected to play as I was not expecting it at all,” Lemke said. “All of us,
Haley, Reilly and Riley were excited to play again, especially with each other.
Getting to meet and play with girls that we had played against for so long was
a really cool experience.”

Louisburg sophomore Rinny McMullen was recently named to the Class 4A all-state second team by the Kansas Volleyball Association and was one of five Lady Cats to earn All-Frontier League honors.

It was another successful season
for the Louisburg volleyball team, and with that success, comes a few awards.

After finishing fourth in Class 4A
this past season, several Lady Cats were recognized with postseason honors –
including one on the state level.

Sophomore setter Rinny McMullen
earned second-team Class 4A honors when the Kansas Volleyball Association all-state
teams were released over the weekend. McMullen was the youngest player to
garner all-state honors, as the three teams were completed with juniors and
seniors.

All-Frontier League teams were
also recently released and five Lady Cats were recognized by the league’s
coaches.

Senior Haley Cain, junior Carleigh
Pritchard and McMullen earned second-team selections, while senior Reilly
Ratliff-Becher and sophomore Davis Guetterman were named honorable mentions.

Spring Hill, which won the
Frontier League, had two players earn first team honors. Bonner Springs, which
was the league runner-up, earned three spots. Eudora also had two first-team
selections.

“The
Frontier League is made up of great teams and great players,” Louisburg coach
Jessica Compliment said. “I was happy to see five of our players recognized.”

McMullen,
who is a part of a two-setter offense with Guetterman, led Louisburg with 504
assists and also led the Lady Cats with 90 aces on the season. She also added
179 digs and 59 kills to her stat line.

Cain,
who was a middle hitter for Louisburg, was third on the team with 202 kills on
the season and was second with 58 blocks. She also added 27 aces on the year.

Pritchard also played in the
middle for the Lady Cats and had a big year offensively. She led Louisburg with
232 kills on the year and also had a team-high 66 blocks.

“These
three players had a great season, and I was happy to see them recognized for
their play,” Compliment said. “Haley has been a leader on the court for the
past four seasons and had another great year. Rinny and Carleigh both had huge
matches throughout the season and plays that helped propel the team
forward. They are both dynamic players on the court and fun to watch. I
was also proud to see Rinny earn all-state honors as well. I am very happy for
her.”

Guetterman
also had a big season for the Lady Cats at the setter position. She was right
behind McMullen with 457 assists on the year and also had 39 aces and 141 digs.

Ratliff-Becher
served as the team’s libero and was the leader for the Lady Cat back row. She
had a team-high 359 digs to go along with 17 aces and 85 assists.

“Both
Reilly and Davis are so steady and consistent on the court,” Compliment said. “Reilly
has been a crucial part of our defense and stepped up this year as one of our
leaders. Davis was able to bring a lot of passion and enthusiasm to the team. I
love watching her and Rinny work so well together and run the offense as well
as they both do.”

ALL-FRONTIER LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL

First Team

Jalyn Stevenson, Spring Hill,
junior; Alli Frank, Spring Hill, junior; Keagan Shockley, Eudora, senior; Kim
Whetstone, Bonner Springs, senior; Keyana Cruse, Bonner Springs, junior

Defensive Specialist/Libero:
Delaney Franklin, Eudora, senior

Setter: Mercedes Madlock, Bonner
Springs, sophomore

Second Team

Kate Frakes, Spring Hill,
sophomore; Haley Cain, Louisburg, senior; Carleigh Pritchard, Louisburg,
junior; Molly Olmstead, Ottawa, junior; Darby Weidl, Ottawa, junior

Defensive Specialist/Libero:
Caitlyn Rexroat, Spring Hill, senior

Setter: Daphne Gardner, Spring
Hill, freshman; Rinny McMullen, Louisburg, sophomore

Honorable mention

Rylee Serpan, Spring Hill,
sophomore; Jayla Pierce, Eudora, junior; Erin Gallagher, Tonganoxie, senior;
Jordan Knipp, Tonganoxie, senior; Morgan Clark, Paola, junior; Abby Richmond,
Paola, junior; Anna Burnett, Baldwin, senior

Defensive Specialist/Libero:
Reilly Ratliff-Becher, Louisburg, senior; Abby Marcouiller, Tonganoxie, senior;
Kaylin Miller, Piper, senior; Brooklyn Chase, Baldwin, junior

Setter: Davis Guetterman,
Louisburg, sophomore; Emma Durr, Eudora, sophomore; Mikayla White, Paola,
sophomore; Emma Stottlemire, Ottawa, sophomore

Louisburg seniors Riley Kallevig (10), Erin Lemke (1), Reilly Ratliff-Becher (16) and Haley Cain (9) were all selected to participate in the GKCVCA all-star match this Sunday at Avila University.

Over the years, Louisburg has been no stranger when it comes to the Greater Kansas City Volleyball Coaches Association all-star match.

The contest, which pits the best
senior volleyball players from Kansas against the best from Missouri, features
both a small and large-class match. Once again this year, the Lady Cats will be
well-represented.

Haley Cain, Riley Kallevig, Erin Lemke
and Reilly Ratliff-Becher have all been selected to participate for the
small-class team at 5 p.m. this Sunday at Avila University.

The four Louisburg players played big roles in the Lady Cats’ fourth-place state finish this past season and have helped the Lady Cats to three straight state tournament appearances, including two runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018.

Cain, who was a middle hitter for
Louisburg, was third on the team with 202 kills on the season and was second with
58 blocks. She also added 27 aces on the year.

Kallevig played all six rotations
for the Lady Cats the past two seasons and finished her year with 191 kills and
31 aces. She was also second on the team with 276 digs.

As for Lemke, the Lady Cat outside
hitter overcame an injury midway through the season to record 106 kills and 27
blocks.

Ratliff-Becher served as the
libero for Louisburg and was the leader in the back row. She had a team-high
359 digs and led the team in serve receive. 
She also finished with 17 aces and 85 assists on the season.

Louisburg’s Alyse Moore and Reilly Ratliff-Becher celebrate a big point Friday during the Class 4A state tournament in Hutchinson.

HUTCHINSON – The Louisburg
volleyball team lost its final two matches of the season, but those setbacks
didn’t take away from what the Lady Cats accomplished last weekend during the
Kansas Class 4A State Championships.

For the third straight season, the
Lady Cats were among the last four teams playing and brought home a little hardware
for their efforts. Louisburg took fourth overall after losing its third place
match to Towanda-Circle, 2-1, on Saturday at Hutchinson Sports Arena.

“Every season our goal is to put ourselves
in the best position to qualify for state and then to hopefully advance to
bracket play on Saturday,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Leading up
to state, we talked about how nothing is guaranteed and in order to make it to
bracket play on Saturday, we have to show up and play our best from the first
whistle to the last whistle. If we play our game, then hopefully the winning
will take care of itself and we’d advance.

“The eight teams at state this year were
all very talented. I was happy that we qualified for the semifinals because
that put us one step closer to the championship. Even though we didn’t reach
the championship match and finished fourth, I was still very proud of how the
team played throughout the tournament.”

It appeared Louisburg was going to bring
home a third-place trophy as it jumped out to an early lead against Circle. The
Lady Cats took the first set 25-19, and despite falling 21-25 in the second,
they held a 20-13 lead in the third.

Circle battled back to tie the match at 23-all, but junior Alyse Moore registered a kill to give Louisburg match point. Instead, Circle won the last three points and took third place from Louisburg.

Moore and senior Haley Cain led Louisburg
with eight kills each, while junior Carleigh Pritchard had six. Louisburg also
served well as it recorded 13 aces in the match, including five from sophomore
Rinny McMullen.

McMullen also shined defensively as she
had a team-high 15 digs to go along with 18 assists. The Louisburg setter went
on to be named to the All-Tournament Team.

Pritchard led the Lady Cat defense at the
net with four blocks, while senior Riley Kallevig and sophomore Chase Kallevig
each had nine digs in the loss.

“We made some errors at the end of the
third set that allowed Circle to gain some momentum and win,” Compliment said. “It
does go to show that you can’t take any rally or play off because a good team
will capitalize on those mistakes or ‘off’ rallies.

“I was still proud of how we finished our
season. Placing fourth at state is still a great accomplishment. We talked as a
team afterwards about the tradition of Louisburg volleyball and how they helped
to create another great season. These players are great role models and have
shown once again what can be accomplished with hard work and teamwork.”

On Friday, the Lady Cats were forced to
battle their way through pool play. Louisburg opened with a 25-10 and 25-19
loss to No. 1 seed Andale.

The Lady Cats were able to keep their hopes of a state title alive with a 26-24, 23-25 and 25-20 win over Holton to even their record at 1-1 in pool play.

Seniors Liz Jacobs and Riley Kallevig led
the way for the Lady Cats offensively as they had 13 and 11 kills,
respectively, while Moore was third on the team with six. Sophomore setter
Davis Guetterman ran the offense with a team-high 22 assists and McMullen had
13.

Defensively, Riley Kallevig led Louisburg
with 16 digs, while senior Reilly Ratliff-Becher had 12 and Chase Kallevig
finished with 11.

Louisburg (23-18) faced an even tougher
test against No. 5 Nickerson as it lost the first set 19-25, but rallied to
take the next two, 25-10 and 25-20, to earn a spot in the state semifinals.

Riley Kallevig had eight kills to pace
the Lady Cat offense, while senior Erin Lemke, Cain and Moore each finished
with five. McMullen and Chase Kallevig added four and two aces, respectively.

Ratliff-Becher had a big match in the
back row for Louisburg as the senior libero led the way with 12 digs, while
Riley Kallevig added seven.

“There were many times they could have
given up on Friday during the Holton and Nickerson matches,” Compliment said. “Instead,
they fought through and pulled out two wins to end pool play 2-1 and lock in
our place in the semifinals. Every team we played at the state
tournament showed up to play, which is the way it should be. We had some
difficult times on Friday, but the team persevered.”

That set up a match with Topeka-Hayden in the semifinals on Saturday, and the Lady Cats couldn’t get into a rhythm in their 25-14 and 25-18 loss to the eventual state champion.

The tournament also marked the end of the
high school volleyball careers of six seniors as Haley Cain, Liz Jacobs, Riley
Kallevig, Sydni Keagle, Erin Lemke and Reilly Ratliff-Becher all played their
final match for the Lady Cats.

“These players are great role models and
have shown once again what can be accomplished with hard work and teamwork,”
Compliment said. “The seniors have been a part of three state appearances and
three finishes in the top four. That is pretty cool. 

“The seniors, and the rest of the players, weren’t ready for the
season to be over. The season was a bit of a roller coaster, but I think they
learned a lot throughout the season and grew as a team. These six seniors will
be missed. They have been great role models over the past four years and I’m
excited to see what their futures outside of Louisburg High School has in store
for them.”

Louisburg senior Erin Lemke (left) and junior Carleigh Pritchard go up for a block during last Saturday’s sub-state tournament. The Lady Cats begin state tournament play at 4:30 p.m. today in Hutchinson.

For the last two years, the
Louisburg volleyball team has found itself in the last match of the season.

It is a pretty good place to be, and for some programs, it would be monumental to reach the state championship game in back-to-back years. The Lady Cats were proud of what they accomplished, but finishing second both times has left them wanting more.

“We all are tired of talking about
taking second because this and that happens,” Louisburg senior Reilly
Ratliff-Becher said. “I’ve been saying third time is the charm and I think this
is our year.”

Louisburg will soon find out as it begins its journey toward a state title today at the Class 4A state tournament in Hutchinson. The Lady Cats will open with pool play at 4:30 p.m. this afternoon and will face off against No. 1 Andale, No. 4 Holton and No. 5 Nickerson.

The top two teams in each pool will advance to the semifinals at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Hutchinson Sports Arena, on the campus of Hutchinson Community College.

The Lady Cats, who are the No. 8 seed with a 21-15 record, will open against Andale, which has been ranked the No. 1 team in Class 4A for most of the season. Louisburg defeated Andale in the state semifinals a year ago, so the Lady Cats are somewhat familiar with their first opponent.

“I am excited to see them again,” Louisburg senior Erin Lemke said of Andale. “Every team is different this year, and I think it is exciting for us to see them again after playing them last year. Them being No. 1 most of the year is not a fear of ours, and I think we are more excited than anything. When we play together, and for each other, is when we play or best.”

Louisburg will also see a pair of unfamiliar foes in Holton and Nickerson, but the Lady Cats aren’t as worried about their opponents as much as they are about themselves.

“We will play whoever we get paired up against,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “It was the same thing we told the girls getting ready for sub-state, that regardless who is on the other side, no one else can control what we do on our side of the court. If we take care of our business, and keep our energy level high, then no one can stop us. If we leave it all out on the court, it doesn’t matter who is on the other side.”

The Lady Cats took care of
business this past week as they knocked out perennial state tournament
participant, Bishop Miege, in the first round of sub-state.

Louisburg brought its energy level
up and it translated into one of its better matches of the season. The Lady Cats
hope to use that same recipe this weekend in Hutchinson as they try to earn the
school’s first state volleyball championship.

“This week, coach said this is the
most energy a team has played with during practice since she has been here,”
Ratliff-Becher said. “Since I’ve been here, I think we are the most prepared
than we have ever been and every single player is ready to do their job.

“I think if we come out with the same energy that we did last week, we are going to win every single game. I told my teammates that we are winning every single game, no matter how sloppy or awful it looks.”

Experience will certainly be on
Louisburg’s side as the Lady Cats have six seniors on their roster, and many of
them will participate in their third state tournament. They have several
players back who saw state action last season, including seniors Haley Cain,
Lemke, Ratlff-Becher and Kallevig.

Junior middle blocker Carleigh
Pritchard, along with sophomore setters Rinny McMullen and Davis Guetterman,
also played big roles on last season’s state tournament team. All of the
players realize what they are going to have to do to reach their goal.

“We all know what it takes to win to get to state, and once we get there, we know what it is like playing with those teams,” senior Riley Kallevig said. “Hopefully we can all play our game, everyone will do their part and we can have a good weekend.

“Being able to get second is a
good accomplishment, but twice in a row is kind of tough. I think we are ready
to bring home that first state title. It would be amazing.”

If anything, the Lady Cats will try to use those back-to-back state runner-up finishes as a reminder of what they have missed out on heading into this weekend.

“For a few of them, they have
their two second place medals and I think that is added motivation for them to
go down there and win a state title,” Compliment said. “A lot of people would
be happy in getting second at state last year, but I think after it was over,
there was a lot unfinished business left there with some of these seniors. They
know this is their last chance to get that title for those seniors. We have to
take care of business first on Friday, but they definitely have a little motivation
after the last couple of years.”

After their match with Andale, the
Lady Cats will face off with Holton (30-11) at 5:30 p.m. and Nickerson (27-13)
at 7:30 p.m.

No. 2 Independence (35-3), No. 3
Towanda-Circle (33-6), No. 6 Eudora (26-13) and No. 7 Topeka-Hayden (25-14)
will compete in the other pool.

Louisburg senior Haley Cain holds up the Class 4A sub-state championship trophy and celebrates with her teammates following the Lady Cats’ 2-0 win over Atchison in the championship match Saturday at Atchison High School. Louisburg also upset Bishop Miege in the sub-state semifinal match, 2-0.

ATCHISON – The sub-state semifinal
game between Louisburg and Bishop Miege on Saturday had all the feels of a
state tournament match.

Partially because a year ago, it
was.

Louisburg met Miege in the state championship match only to see the Stags send the Lady Cats to a runner-up finish in two sets. Then three weeks ago the two teams met again, and like before, Miege dispatched of Louisburg in two sets.

However, Bishop Miege saw a different Louisburg team during the sub-state tournament at Atchison High School – one they didn’t expect.

The Lady Cats came out on fire and
never let up in a 25-18 and 25-22 win over Miege to end the Stags’ season. It
marks the first time in at least 12 years, if not longer, that Miege will not
be at the state tournament.

Since the state tournament began
in 1971, Bishop Miege has made 39 state appearances during that time in either
Class 5A or 4A and is the most in Kansas history.

“Our energy was going to be the
difference in that match, so we knew we had to bring it,” Louisburg senior Erin
Lemke said. “We knew we had the same skill set as Miege, but our energy was
what was going to pull us through there in the end. To get there, we just had
to believe in ourselves and work hard this past week to give us the confidence
that we needed.”

However, even after pulling off a
big revenge win that expended a lot of energy, the Lady Cats still had a
sub-state championship match to play against No. 2 seed Atchison. The No. 7
seed Lady Cats took care of business as they won in straight sets, 25-12 and
25-15, at Atchison High School.

This will be the eighth time in 10 years that Louisburg has qualified for the state tournament, including three straight appearances. The Lady Cats have also finished second at state the last two seasons.

“I am super excited,” Louisburg senior
Reilly Ratliff-Becher said. “We have worked so hard this past week in practice,
especially coming off a bad tournament the week before. Our mentality changed
and that was big for us.”

Louisburg (21-15) came out with a
purpose to open the tournament and put Bishop Miege in a hole early as the Lady
Cats jumped out to a 14-5 lead in the first behind kills from junior Carleigh
Pritchard, seniors Liz Jacobs, Lemke and junior Alyse Moore. Senior Haley Cain
also provided two blocks during that span and the Lady Cats were off and
running.

The Lady Cats went up 22-12 after
sophomore setter Rinny McMullen sent the ball to the back corner for a point
away from the Miege defense and they were able to close out the set.

“They were amped up and ready to
play Miege,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “I think with all the talk
with private schools against public schools, I think the girls just said enough
is enough and we are going to do this. They realized it is just a name on the
jersey and that they can beat them.”

In the second set, the two teams
were tied at 10-all before the Lady Cats went on a 7-0 run as McMullen served
six straight points, including three aces, to put Louisburg up 17-10.

Miege cut the Lady Cat lead to
21-18 late, but kills from Pritchard and Lemke closed out the 25-22 victory and
put them in the sub-state championship.

“I don’t think Miege expected us
to come out this way,” Compliment said. “They saw us three weeks ago at the
Ottawa tournament and went on an 11-0 run on us. I think our energy, our
aggressive offense and our defense really was the difference. We had some
amazing blocks up front and I think all our girls played great and I don’t
think Miege was expecting that.

“They are a good team and you have
to respect good teams and the tradition they have. Both programs have that
tradition of making it to state and doing well there and this was a rematch of
the state finals and it is odd that it is in the first round of sub-state. Now
one of those teams that usually goes to state isn’t going to be there and I
told the girls that we don’t want it to be us.”

The Lady Cats had a balanced
attack offensively as Pritchard, Jacobs and Lemke each had five kills to lead
the way, while senior Riley Kallevig added four. McMullen also finished with a
team-high four aces and had nine assists along with fellow setter Davis
Guetterman.

Louisburg also stepped up on
defense as Lemke, Pritchard, Cain and Kallevig each had a pair of blocks in the
win. Kallevig also finished with a team-high eight digs, while Ratliff-Becher
and McMullen both had five.

“I wasn’t surprised because this
summer we did amazing things like that and that is how it felt out there on the
court,” Cain said of the Miege win. “It seemed like we had been missing
something lately and I think we brought it out for sub-state.

“I think we played amazing. We
were all consistent and played so well and beating Miege is one of the best
feelings I’ve had.”

Louisburg finished the first match on a high, but the Lady Cats had to keep that momentum going against Atchison in the championship game.

McMullen helped the Lady Cats jump out to a 6-1 lead over Atchison in the first set thanks to three aces and they held the advantage throughout the set. Louisburg finished the first set on a 7-2 run thanks to a pair of kills from Moore and an ace from Chase Kallevig.

The Lady Cats picked up right
where they left off in the second set as they opened on an 11-5 run after two
aces from Chase Kallevig and kills from Moore, Riley Kallevig, Pritchard and
Cain. Louisburg then took a 21-9 lead after a pair of kills from Cain and never
looked back.

“When we play for each other is
when we have our best outcome,” Lemke said. “We had to have same mentality that
we had against Miege. We knew the skill level wasn’t exactly the same, but we
knew we had to play the same way and we are able to go to state.”

Cain led the Lady Cats with eight
kills in the championship match, while Moore finished with five and Pritchard
added four. McMullen set up some of those kills with 10 assists and Guetterman
added seven.

Serving was a strength for
Louisburg as it recorded 10 aces, four of which came from Chase Kallevig.
McMullen recorded three aces and Ratliff-Becher had two.

Defensively, Ratliff-Becher had
six digs to lead the Lady Cats and Riley Kallevig had five.

“Every year going to state is our
goal, but every year you know that you can’t take anything for granted and you
can’t expect that trip to state to happen,” Compliment said. “Kudos to the
girls because every year they have made the time in the offseason, they have
come in during the summer and they have worked hard. We had kind of an up and down
year, and I think some people thought that we weren’t going to be as good this
season.

“It says so much for the girls
this year and I told them that they are capable of doing this but they had to
believe in themselves, put in the work and become a team. This whole season we
have been struggling to find who the go-to person was going to be, and Anna
(Dixon) was that person for us for the longest time, and I am proud of how they
stepped up to play.”

Louisburg will now prepare for the
Class 4A state tournament which begins Friday afternoon at Hutchinson Community
College. The Lady Cats are the No. 8 seed and will open pool play at 4:30 p.m. against
No. 1 Andale (35-2), and then follow up with matches against No. 4 Holton
(24-11) and No. 5 Nickerson (27-13).

No. 2 Independence (35-3), No. 3
Towanda-Circle (33-6), No. 6 Eudora (26-13) and No. 7 Topeka-Hayden (25-14) are
in the other pool. The top two teams from each pool will qualify for the
semifinals on Saturday.

After two runner-up finishes in as
many years, the Lady Cats are ready to take that next step to the school’s
first state championship.

“Our mindset is to definitely go
out there and win state,” Ratliff-Becher said. “We have come up short the last
two years and now it is time to win.”

Sophomore setter Rinny McMullen sets up a teammate during a match earlier this season. Louisburg will face Bishop Miege on Saturday in the first round of sub-state in Atchison.

The last time Louisburg and Bishop
Miege met on the volleyball court in the postseason was last year’s state
championship match.

This time around, the same two
teams will be meeting again, but this time in the first round of the sub-state
tournament.

Louisburg (19-15), which is the
No. 7 seed, will travel to Atchison to face No. 10 Bishop Miege (15-22) at 3
p.m. on Saturday in a rematch of the Class 4A state title match.

Records and seeds don’t mean much
when it comes to postseason play as Miege is currently the No. 3-ranked team in
Class 4A and the Lady Cats are No. 5. Two of the top teams in the state will
square off in hopes of making it to Salina for the state tournament.

“The team that shows up is the team that
comes away with the win,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “Seven of our
10 players have the experience of playing at state, and I think this match will
have that feel to it. It is a rematch of the state championship so it should be
a good match.”

The Lady Cats do have a little momentum
going into the match as they defeated Piper on the road Tuesday in their
regular season finale, 25-11, 25-9 and 25-19. The victory snapped what was a
five-match losing streak that happened the week before.

“It
was good to end the regular season on a win against Piper,” Compliment said. “We
didn’t win the league title this year, but it was still important to finish
strong in the league. It wasn’t our cleanest match, but the team was able to
loosen up and have fun for their last regular season match.”

Junior Carleigh Pritchard led the charge
offensively against Piper as she finished with a team-high eight kills and
senior Haley Cain was right behind her with six. Senior Erin Lemke added five
in the win.

The Lady Cats did a lot of damage from
behind the service line as they recorded 15 aces in the three sets. Cain had a
big night with five aces and served a team-high 12 points, while libero Reilly
Ratliff-Becher and sophomore Chase Kallevig each had three.

Sophomore Rinny McMullen recorded a
team-best 12 assists and fellow sophomore Davis Guetterman finished with nine.
McMullen also had team-high six digs and Cain was second with four.

With the regular season behind them, the
Lady Cats are putting their focus on the postseason – namely Bishop Miege. The
two teams met earlier this season and the Stags took Louisburg down in two
sets, 25-19 and 25-15.

Compliment and the Lady Cats believes
Miege will see a different team than the one they saw at the Ottawa
Invitational earlier this month.

“The team is excited to see Miege on
Saturday,” Compliment said. “We didn’t play our best when we saw them earlier
in the season, but I think we’ve gotten stronger since then. Miege always plays
tough in the postseason, but we also seem to step up when it comes to postseason
play. We have a lot of players who have been in many high stakes matches, and
any postseason match is high stakes match.”

The two teams will square off at 3 p.m.,
at Atchison High School. The winner of that match will play the winner between
No. 2 seed Atchison and the winner of the play-in game between Field Kindley
and Parsons for the sub-state championship.

Louisburg senior Riley Kallevig sends a shot over the net Thursday during the Lady Cats’ match with Olathe North on Senior Night.

On what was supposed to be a night
of celebrating the work of six Louisburg seniors, Thursday’s match against
Olathe North ended on a sour note.

The Lady Cats, who were playing
their final home match of the season, fell behind early to the Eagles and
couldn’t catch up in a 25-18, 25-22, 17-25 and 25-23 loss during Senior Night at
Louisburg High School.

Before the match, the Lady Cats
honored seniors Haley Cain, Liz Jacobs, Riley Kallevig, Sydni Keagle, Erin
Lemke and Reilly Ratliff-Becher. Many of those seniors played big roles in the
Lady Cats’ run to back-to-back state championship appearances.

“These
six seniors are a special group,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “It’s
been fun to watch them grow and develop over the years. A good portion of them
have been on varsity since they were freshmen or sophomores, so they’ve been
key players in our recent success.

“They’ve
put in a lot of work over the years, and they aren’t done yet this year.
Hopefully, they’ll have an opportunity to play at state again this season. This
is a special group of seniors who get along really well. They are a fun bunch
to coach.”

Olathe North jumped on the Lady Cats early on in the first set as the Eagles opened the match on a 14-4 run. Louisburg tried to claw back, and cut the Eagle lead to 18-14 at one point, but couldn’t get any closer.

In the second set, the Lady Cats traded leads with the Eagles, but back-to-back kills from Jacobs gave Louisburg a 19-17 advantage late. Olathe North responded with a 6-1 run to help win the set and take a 2-0 lead.

Louisburg responded nicely in the third set as it went on a 6-0 run of its own behind the serving from sophomore Davis Guetterman to put the Lady Cats up 17-8 and they didn’t look back. Junior Carleigh Pritchard also recorded a pair of kills and a block during that run.

The
Lady Cats didn’t have enough in the fourth set to keep the match alive, but
made it interesting. Louisburg’s defense stepped up late won a big point to
take a 16-15 lead after a long volley that was kept alive on a big dig from
Ratliff-Becher.

Louisburg once against battled back from a three-point deficit to go up 23-22 on an ace from Chase Kallevig, but the Eagles scored the final three points to take the set and the match.

“It was tough to lose on Senior Night,” Compliment said. “You always want to be able to send the seniors off with a final win on their home court. Olathe North was smart and played aggressive the entire evening.”

Cain and Pritchard played big in the middle as the two players led the Lady Cats with 12 kills each. Jacobs also finished with nine on the outside and sophomore Rinny McMullen had six from the setter’s spot.

Louisburg also served well at times as it had nine aces, including five from Guetterman, who served 13 points. McMullen led the Lady Cat offense with 21 assists and Guetterman added 12.

Defensively, Riley Kallevig led the team
in digs with 15, while Ratliff-Becher finished with 12 and Chase Kallevig added
10. Lemke finished with a team-high three blocks along with Pritchard.

The Lady Cats will try and bounce back
tonight when it travels to Piper for their final regular season match of the
season.

Louisburg goes winless at Emporia

Louisburg traveled to the Emporia
Invitational on Saturday, and like much of its season, the Lady Cats went up
against bigger programs, some of which were state-ranked.

It was a tough outing for the Lady Cats
as they lost all four of their matches.

Louisburg lost to Bishop Carroll (25-17,
25-21), Shawnee Heights (25-20, 20-25, 25-17), Bonner Springs (25-23, 25-17)
and Lawrence (25-22, 21-25 and 25-14).

“Saturday was a rough and tough day,”
Compliment said. “Yes, we did see some tough competition, but we had moments
where we could have pulled away with a win or at least played closer with
a few of the teams. We made quite a few service errors which cost us a lot of
points throughout the day. This tournament is similar to the Lansing tournament
as far as level of play and teams. We were lacking intensity throughout the
day, and other teams showed a lot more emotion and drive.

“There were moments though where I
thought we were turning around and fighting back to win, but unfortunately we
came up short each time.  We had some great defensive plays throughout the
day, and our serve receive was pretty consistent as well.”

Louisburg junior Alyse Moore (left) and senior Haley Cain team up for a block during last week’s home match against Eudora.

It may have just been a normal
Frontier League match to the casual fan, but last Tuesday’s dual between
Louisburg and Eudora at Louisburg High School had more postseason ramifications
than many people may realize.

Both teams have near identical
records and are fighting for a top four seed to have the ability to host the
upcoming sub-state tournament. They knew what was at stake and both teams
played like it, especially in the first set.

Louisburg rallied from four-point deficit late and took the first set 30-28 over the Cardinals. From there, the momentum was with the Lady Cats as they took the next two sets 25-21 and 25-21 to win the match.

“Obviously losing to Bonner Springs and Spring Hill earlier in the year, we are out of the running for a league championship, but this is still a league school and we still have to go for it and fight,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “With where the records are falling, and the potential to host sub-state, records become important and Eudora has a good record. There are three of us that are like neck-and-neck. There is still a lot to be played, but it is pretty dicey up there with the top five or six teams.”

The top four teams, record-wise,
on each side of the state will get to host sub-state and the Lady Cats improved
their mark to 18-10 and are currently sitting as the No. 3 seed with two weeks
of competition left to go. Since then, Eudora has seen its record fall to 22-13
and in the No. 5 spot.

The Lady Cats were able to get
that potentially big victory thanks to the adversity it overcame early. Eudora
went on 6-0 run to take a 22-18 lead and was well on its way to taking the
first set.

Instead, Louisburg went on a 7-2
run of its own to take a 25-24 lead thanks to kills from junior Carleigh
Pritchard and senior Erin Lemke. Eudora won the next two points to force a game
point at 26-25, but Lemke and senior Liz Jacobs responded with back-to-back
kills to go back up.

It went back-and-forth until Jacobs
recorded kill at 29-28 and sophomore Rinny McMullen ended it with a tip over
the Cardinals front row to give the Lady Cats all momentum.

“This was probably the first time
all season where we have played three sets consistently and aggressive the
whole time,” Compliment said. “We played to win every single ball and we didn’t
back off on anything. Winning that first set, and battling the entire time was
huge for morale and confidence. It was a big first set.

“I just told the girls they need
to start putting the ball away and not play timid. You have hit, be smart and
be aggressive. I told them there shouldn’t be a ball that gets left untouched
and I think they responded.”

From there, the Lady Cats took care of business as they took control midway through each of the next two sets and never looked back.

Pritchard and senior Haley Cain
had a big night in the middle as they led Louisburg offensive attack with 11
and 10 kills, respectively. Junior Alyse Moore finished with nine, while Lemke
and Jacobs each had six. Senior Riley Kallevig had six kills in the win.

Setters Davis Guetterman and Rinny
McMullen served up those kill opportunities as they each finished with 22
assists on the night and McMullen also had a team-high three aces.

Defensively, senior libero
Reilly-Ratliff Becher led Louisburg with 16 digs, while Kallevig also finished
in double figures with 12.

Louisburg will play its final regular
season home match Thursday when it hosts Olathe North on Senior Night. The
match is set to begin at 6 p.m.

Louisburg senior Liz Jacobs goes up for a kill during the Lady Cats’ match against Olathe West on Saturday at the Ottawa Invitational.

It was another busy week for the
Louisburg volleyball team as the Lady Cats played two league duals and a
tournament in a five-day period.

Louisburg ventured to the Ottawa Invitational on Saturday and played in five matches during the round-robin tournament. The Lady Cats finished third overall with a 3-2 record, with their only two losses coming against state-ranked teams.

The Lady Cats got wins against
Ottawa (2-0), Olathe West (2-1) and Highland Park (2-0), before falling to
Bishop Miege (2-0) and Basehor-Linwood (2-1).

“We had a good day at Ottawa,” Louisburg
coach Jessica Compliment said. “The team stepped up and played well together I
thought all day. We didn’t come out and play our best versus Miege. We had a
bit of a mental block and didn’t put our best effort into that match. Outside
of the Miege match, we played really well.”

Ottawa was the first opponent for
Louisburg and the Lady Cats took care of business with a 25-17 and 25-21 win.
They faced a tough challenge in their next match when they had to go three sets
against Olathe West.

The two teams had split earlier in the year, but Louisburg came out strong with a 25-20 win in the first set. Olathe West countered with a 25-21 victory in the second and were one point away from winning the match in the third set.

Olathe West had a 24-20 lead in the third
set, but the Lady Cats responded to go on a 6-0 run as sophomore Davis Guetterman
served the last six points, including an ace, to help Louisburg get a big win.

The momentum was short-lived, however, as
the Lady Cats had a tough time keeping up with Bishop Miege in the next match
as they fell 25-19 and 25-15. Miege, the No. 4 ranked team in Class 4A, took a
14-4 lead in the first set and never looked back.

Louisburg quickly put that loss behind them as it matched up with Basehor-Linwood, the No. 10-ranked team in Class 5A. The Lady Cats lost the first set 25-19, but rallied to win the second 25-18.

The Lady Cats continued to play hard into the third set, before falling 27-25. It was the second loss to the Bobcats this season.

“It was good to beat Olathe West again because
they beat us at Lansing,” Compliment said. “We are 2-1 now versus them. The
Basehor match was a well-played match. The third set was a close one, and I
thought the team played and fought hard until the last whistle.

Junior Alyse Moore had a busy match at the net as she recorded a team-high 10 kills and also had three blocks. Seniors Liz Jacobs and Erin Lemke each had seven kills, while senior Haley Cain had six kills and a team-high four blocks.

Louisburg served strong as it recorded six aces, including a pair each from sophomores Rinny McMullen and Chase Kallevig, and junior Carleigh Pritchard.

Defensively, the Lady Cats also
played well as seniors Reilly Ratliff-Becher and Riley Kallevig led the team
with nine digs and Guetterman added eight. Guetterman also had a big outing as
the team’s setter as she had 18 assists and McMullen had 12.

The Lady Cats closed out the tournament with a 25-4 and 25-12 win over Highland Park.

Jacobs and Riley Kallevig led
Louisburg offensively with five kills each, but it was the serving where the
Lady Cats did their damage.

Louisburg racked up 19 aces in two
sets, seven of which came from Ratliff-Becher and Chase Kallevig added five of
her own. Guetterman also had 17 assists in the victory.

Louisburg downs Baldwin, Tonganoxie

Louisburg was also able to find
success in Frontier League play as the Lady Cats swept both Tonganoxie and
Baldwin.

The Lady Cats traveled to
Tonganoxie last Thursday and left with a 25-18, 25-8 and 25-18 victory over the
Chieftains. Two days earlier, Louisburg hosted Baldwin and came away with an
easy 25-7, 25-14 and 25-17 win.

Against Baldwin, junior Carleigh
Pritchard led the Louisburg offensive attack with nine kills, while senior Liz
Jacobs finished with eight and seniors Haley Cain and Erin Lemke each added
seven.

Louisburg was also strong from
behind the service line as it racked up 12 aces, including six from sophomore
Rinny McMullen. Cain and junior Alyse Moore were strong at the net defensively
with three blocks each.

Senior libero Reilly
Ratliff-Becher also had a big night in the back row as she tallied a team-high
20 digs. McMullen and fellow sophomore Davis Guetterman also had a strong
evening at the setter spot with 22 and 12 assists, respectively.

“The team played well
both nights,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “In both matches, we
served tough and were able to take both teams out of their offense. Reilly and
Chase Kallevig played some great defense both evenings. There are still a few
areas we need to work on cleaning up, but overall the team played with a lot of
energy.”

In its match with
Tonganoxie, Pritchard once again led Louisburg up front with a team-high eight
kills, while Moore finished with seven. Lemke and senior Riley Kallevig had six
kills each.

The Lady Cats also
had nine aces in the match, including four each from McMullen and Chase
Kallevig. Ratliff-Becher also led Louisburg defensively with 11 digs.

McMullen had a
team-high 21 assists to lead the offense and Guetterman was right behind her
with 15.