Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week six of the fall sports season, sponsored by Landmark National Bank.

MADIE WILLIAMS, SENIOR, VOLLEYBALL

Louisburg senior Madie Williams helped lead the Wildcat volleyball team to a big week that included a second place finish at the Atchison Invitational on Saturday. Louisburg had a successful stretch that included a revenge win over Tonganoxie and then five straight wins at Atchison.

Williams was a big part of that success and she had a team-high 48 kills during those six matches as she played all six rotations. Williams was also second on the team with 50 digs and was strong from behind the service line with eight aces. On the season, Williams leads the team with 35 aces is second on the team in kills (237) and digs (234).

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: Declan Battle

Week 2: Megan Quinn

Week 3: Maddy Rhamy

Week 4: Emmett White

Week 5: Ashton Moore

Louisburg celebrates a big point from Hailey Sword during the Wildcats’ 3-1 victory Tuesday over Tonganoxie on Senior Night.

On a night where Louisburg volleyball had a chance to honor its six seniors, the Wildcats also got the opportunity to exact a little revenge.

Coming off a tough tournament performance Saturday, Louisburg had a chance to avenge one of its losses from that day on Tuesday when it hosted Tonganoxie.

The Wildcats played like a different team as they downed the Chieftains, 3-1, and improved their record to 16-13 on the season.

“This was a big win for us,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “Our girls came in very determined to beat them. We lost to them over the weekend, but didn’t play our best. We knew that we had it in us to win, and everyone wanted to win for the seniors on senior night as well.”

Louisburg honored seniors Ashlyn Berck, Katie Elpers, Izzy Moreland, Megan Quinn, Hailey Sword and Madie Williams and their parents prior to the match. All of those seniors made an impact in some way in the 25-20, 25-22, 12-25 and 26-24 victory.

“These seniors have dedicated so much time and energy to our program,” Willer said. “They have each played different roles throughout the years and have been willing to take on whatever role best helps the team to be successful. Many of them have worked really hard to form relationships with our underclassmen and serve as mentors and leaders for the whole team. 

“I think the impact they have had on this program was evidenced by the tears shed by all of our underclassmen on senior night who will be so sad to see them go. As none of them are planning to go on and play volleyball at the next level, it means a lot that they have each given so much to a sport that they love to play with each other.”

It was a balanced effort for Louisburg as it jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match thanks to different players stepping up at the net and on defense.

Williams led the Louisburg attack with 12 kills on the night from her all-around spot, while Sword and sophomore Delaney Nelsen each had eight. Morland and Elpers added seven and six kills, respectively, and sophomore Caileigh Kilgore added five.

Quinn and freshman Adelyn Moore ran the offense well. Quinn led the way with 24 assists on the night and Moore finished with 15.

“I think we were able to really implement the balanced attack idea that we’ve been talking about all season,” Willer said. “Our setters did a great job of finding each hitter and putting them in a position to be successful. Everyone contributed, which helps make it easier to find a single blocker and holes in the defense on the other side.”

Defensively, several Wildcats made big plays throughout the night. 

Along with leading the team in kills, Williams also had a team-best 18 digs and Sword was right behind her with 17. Quinn and Nelsen each had 14 and Moore contributed nine.

Berck also had a big night from behind the service line as she tallied a team-high five aces.

“Our defense stepped up throughout the night, and we made the conscious decision to be nothing but relentless in our pursuit,” Willer said. “After the third set, our captains talked to the team about how defense was going to win this game and that we just really needed to leave it all out on the floor. Their leadership in those efforts were definitely noticed, and their challenge to the team had everyone rising to the occasion.”

The Wildcats got out to a pair of relatively easy wins in the first two sets, but the Chieftains controlled the third to keep the match alive.

Louisburg got right back on track as the Wildcats jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the fourth. However, the Chieftains made a run of their own to grab a 16-13 advantage.

Moreland responded with back-to-back kills and then a Tonganoxie net violation tied the match. The Chieftains went back up 18-16, but again the Wildcats rallied with a kill from Sword and Williams.

Berck then added an ace to put Louisburg up 19-18. The lead would change hands a couple different times, but the Wildcats took a 24-22 advantage on a pair of Nelsen kills.

Tonganoxie tied the match again at 24-all, but Moreland notched a kill on a set from Quinn and then the Chieftains were called for under the net to give the Wildcats the win.

“Overall, I think we played well and toughed it out on defense to pull out the win,” Willer said. “We showed a lot of heart, and I am proud of the way that we were able to bounce back from mistakes or big plays that they made to answer with big plays of our own.”

Louisburg is back in action this Saturday when the Wildcats travel to the Atchison Invitational.

Wildcats go 1-4 at Ottawa

Louisburg competed at the Ottawa Invitational last Saturday and got out to a great start, which included a revenge win over Ottawa to start the day.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, it was the only victory they could garner on the day as they fell to Basehor-Linwood, Maize South, Bishop Miege and Tonganoxie.

The Wildcats fought hard for much of the day, including taking a set from the defending state champion — Bishop Miege.

“The Ottawa tournament is always filled with tough competition, and this year was no different,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “We started the morning off by beating Ottawa after losing to them a couple of weeks ago, so it’s always nice to get that ‘revenge’ win. The biggest positives on the day were that we competed hard with each team and battled through some tough sets. 

“We took a set from Bishop Miege, and in all of our matches we fought hard to stay in the game, we just didn’t quite have the power to pull off the wins in the end. We are looking forward to cleaning up some aspects of the game in practice this week and putting some more tallies in the win column.”

Louisburg senior Hailey Sword rises up for a kill last Tuesday during the Wildcats’ home match against Paola.

The Louisburg volleyball team ventured back into Frontier League action last week and finished with a split of Paola and Spring Hill.

The one victory was a big one as the Wildcats swept rival Paola, 25-17, 25-14 and 25-18, last Tuesday at home to get their 14th win on the season.

It was also the Wildcats’ Pink-Out Night as they raised money to support a local family battling cancer. Louisburg coach Leanna Willer couldn’t have asked for a better outcome for her team.

“Beating Paola is always a good feeling with the natural rivalry between our two schools,” Willer said. “I thought the girls came out with some fire and energy that carried us through the night. It was awesome to see how confident we played as girls were going up to swing with no fear and really terminating quite well throughout the match.”

The Wildcats were down two starters due to injury, but several players picked up the slack, including Hailey Sword. The Louisburg senior registered a team-high 13 kills was second on the team with 13 digs. She also added a pair of aces.

“Hailey had a great night,” Willer said. “Her court awareness keeps improving, and she’s a very smart hitter that can find the open spot on the other side. She’s also very skilled in knowing when to just get up and swing hard, which was evident in many of her kills on Tuesday. She’s an all-around player that can really energize this team when she gets going, so we are excited to see what we get from her down the stretch.”

Sophomore Delaney Nelson played all-six rotations for Louisburg and was especially strong on the defensive end with a team-high 17 digs. She also had a team-high four aces and eight kills.

Sophomores Caileigh Kilgore and McKenna Lohse had eight and seven kills, respectively. Senior Megan Quinn tallied a team-best 22 assists and freshman Adelyn Moore had 16.

Moore also finished with nine digs on the night and senior libero Ashlyn Berck added seven.

“One of the biggest positives of the night was just our overall team confidence and chemistry,” Willer said. “Everyone on the court and on the bench were locked into the game and cheering for each other’s successes, which is exactly what we need to succeed as a team. We stayed in a great headspace where everyone felt confident in playing their game.”

Wildcats drop league match to Spring Hill

Louisburg’s schedule got quite a bit tougher Thursday when they Wildcats went on the road to face off with Spring Hill.

The Broncos showed why they are one of the best teams in the Frontier League as they handed Louisburg a 25-16, 25-12 and 25-12 loss.

Sophomores Caileigh Kilgore and Delaney Nelsen led the Wildcats at the net with six kills each. Setter Megan Quinn had 10 assists.

Senior Hailey Sword finished with a team-best seven digs on defense, while senior Ashlyn Berck and freshman Adelyn Moore had six and five, respectively.

Louisburg senior Hailey Sword goes up for a kill Saturday during the Louisburg Invitational. The Wildcats finished second at their home tournament with a 3-2 record.

For the second straight season, the Louisburg volleyball team ended its home tournament with a souvenir of sorts — a team plaque.

After a day that featured five matches against bigger programs, Louisburg persevered through some injuries and lineup changes and it resulted in a runner-up finish Saturday in the Louisburg Invitational. 

Louisburg ended the day with a 3-2 record that included wins over Shawnee Mission South, Shawnee Mission West and Basehor-Linwood. The Wildcats also lost a tough three-set match to Olathe North and fell in two to Shawnee Mission East.

“Finishing second on the day was great, especially with the level of competition that we bring in for our home tournament,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “None of those games are ever a guaranteed win, and the girls have to battle all day long to maintain playing at a high level. 

“Overall, I feel that we played well and rose to the occasion. Every now and then we see glimpses of our inconsistency, but I thought we did a good job of remaining calm and collected throughout the day and playing as a team.”

The Wildcats came out strong to start the day as they opened with a 26-24, 25-20 victory over Shawnee Mission South. 

Senior Madie Williams led the attack at the net with 10 kills and senior Hailey Sword followed with seven. Setters Megan Quinn and Adelyn Moore each finished with double-digit assists with 11 and 10, respectively.

Defensively, sophomore Delaney Nelsen and Quinn each led the way with six digs. Junior Evyn Richardson tallied two blocks.

Against Shawnee Mission West, the Wildcats won going away with a 25-19 and 25-18 victory. Williams and sophomore Caileigh Kilgore were big at the net with six kills each.

Quinn finished with 11 assists to lead the Louisburg attack, while Sword was strong from behind the service line with four aces. Williams finished with a team-high six digs defensively, while senior Ashlyn Berck, Sword and Quinn each had four.

The Wildcats suffered their first setback of the day when they squared off with Olathe North in a 19-25, 25-20 and 25-17 loss to the Eagles.

Williams once again led the Louisburg offense with 10 kills and Sword finished with seven. Nelsen and Kilgore each added six in the loss.

Richardson led the Louisburg defense with four blocks, while sophomore McKenna Lohse — who is filling in for an injured Izzy Moreland — added three blocks along with Kilgore.

Moore led Louisburg with 16 assists in the match and Quinn tallied 12, while Berck and Williams led the Wildcat back row with nine digs each.

Louisburg got back on the right track in its next match as it downed Basehor-Linwood, 25-18 and 25-22.

Sword and Williams paced the Louisburg offense with eight kills each and Lohse finished with five from her middle blocker spot. Quinn and Moore ran the offense well with 14 and 10 assists, respectively. 

Defensively, Berck and Sword each led the way with six digs and senior Katie Elpers had a team-high two blocks.

Due to previous injuries, and ones sustained in the tournament, Willer had to rearrange her lineup at different times and was pleased to see her team still play well despite the different faces.

“Switching the lineup around is always an added challenge, but the girls have done a really great job of being willing to fill whatever role is needed to help the team,” Willer said. “We’ve moved some girls around to try to balance out our crew both offensively and defensively, and they’ve adjusted really nicely. Both Megan and Adelyn have worked hard to form connections with all of our hitters, so it’s great to be able to shift people into different positions and still get solid offensive results.”

In the final game of the round-robin tournament, the Wildcats squared off with Shawnee Mission East in what ended up being the championship match. Unfortunately, the Wildcats couldn’t keep up with the Lancers in the 25-15 and 26-24 loss.

“I was proud to see us battle in the second set,” Willer said. “East sort of let us have it in the first set, and after a long day of volleyball, I was glad to see us fight harder in the second set. Although we fell a little short in the end, we felt proud of leaving it all out there on the floor.”

Louisburg (13-8) will be back in action tonight as the Wildcats host rival Paola in a Frontier League matchup. Varsity is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Wildcats sweep home triangular

Coming off a league loss to Eudora earlier in the week, the Wildcats got back on the winning track Thursday in their home triangular.

Louisburg opened with a 2-1 win over Girard, before sweeping Fort Scott 2-0.

“I am proud that we were able to bounce back to get two wins,” Willer said. “After the Eudora match, everyone came into Wednesday’s practice on a mission, knowing that we had some aspects of our game that we definitely wanted to work on and make adjustments to. It was great to see them work implementing those things.”

The Wildcats faced a little adversity against Girard. After Louisburg won the first set 25-18, Girard responded to take the second 25-20. The Wildcats were able to respond with a 25-18 win in the third.

The injury bug also hit Louisburg during the match as the Wildcats lost middle Izzy Moreland with an ankle injury and they were already without senior outside hitter Madie Williams who was battling a knee injury.

Willer brought in sophomore McKenna Lohse to fill in and was pleased to see her play well in Moreland’s absence.

“Unfortunately we have been hit with an injury bug lately, and losing Izzy in the middle of the match was a huge bummer for the team as she’s been solid for us this year,” Willer said. “I think it took us a little bit to get out of the shock and panic of the moment, but then we were able to regroup and continue on. It was also great to have Kenna be able to step up into this role with no hesitation, especially when it happened so suddenly. She did a great job.”

Louisburg was solid from behind the service line in the two matches as it combined for 11 aces, including four each from Ashlyn Berck and Delaney Nelsen.

Sophomore Caileigh Kilgore led the Wildcats with 16 kills on the night and senior Hailey Sword added 14. Senior Katie Elpers and Nelsen finished with 13 and 12, respectively.

Adelyn Moore added a team-high 32 assists to lead the Wildcat offense and senior Megan Quinn tallied 29.

Nelsen and Lohse led the defense as the net with four and three blocks, respectively. In the back row, Berck finished with a team-high 23 digs and Nelsen had 22.

“We saw a lot of positives throughout both matches, but I would say that the other sophomores were standouts to me,” Willer said. “Caileigh had a big night finishing with 16 kills. She has established herself as someone we can rely on to put a ball down which is awesome. Delaney also stepped up in a big way as she filled Madie’s 6 rotation position. She did a great job of being consistent in all aspects of the game.”

Louisburg’s Delaney Nelsen and Izzy Moreland team up for a block Tuesday during the Wildcats’ 3-0 win over Bonner Springs.

Fresh off a tournament win where the Louisburg volleyball team reeled off six straight wins, the Wildcats kept that momentum going Tuesday at Bonner Springs.

Louisburg made quick work of Bonner Springs as it rolled to a 25-16, 25-12 and 25-14 victory over the Braves in Frontier League action.

“I was very happy that our girls kept our momentum from Saturday heading into league play this week,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. ‘I love that our team is growing in confidence and comfortability with each other, and I’m glad to see that in our play on the court as we continue to perform this season. Our setters did a great job of moving the ball around and balancing the offense among all of our hitters, who each stepped up at different times to make some big plays.”

The Wildcats (8-5) jumped out to a fast start against the Braves and never looked back. Louisburg’s offense got rolling from the beginning and it started with its setters.

Freshman Adelyn Moore led the way with 17 assists on they night and senior Megan Quinn added 12.

Several hitters also had big nights as senior Madie Williams had a team-high 10 kills, while senior Hailey Sword finished with nine. Senior Katie Elpers was third on the team with five kills and sophomore Delaney Nelsen and senior Izzy Moreland had four and three, respectively.

Williams was also strong behind the service line with six aces, while Moore, Quinn and Moreland each finished with two.

Sword led the Wildcat defense with seven digs on the night, while senior libero Ashlyn Berck, Williams and Quinn each finished with six. Junior Evyn Richardson had a team-high two blocks.

The Wildcats were also able to work in sophomore middle McKenna Lohse into the match for her first-ever varsity action.

“I loved that we were able to work McKenna into the rotation in the third set to see her varsity debut,” Willer said. “She is doing a great job on JV this year and stepped into our rotation with no issues. Under the leadership/mentorship of Izzy Moreland, she did great.”

With those seven straight wins, however, the Wildcats have now hit a lull in their schedule where they get a week off of game action. That all sets up a busy week for Louisburg next week that includes a league dual against Eudora, a triangular and its home tournament Saturday.

“As much as we would love to keep playing and continue the momentum, having a small break like this is nice heading into a big week,” Willer said. “We are using the extra practice time this week to focus in on some fundamental skills as well as give our bodies some time to rest and recuperate before such a big week. Without having to worry about preparing for a specific opponent, we can really hone in on the aspects of the game specific to our team that we want to improve.”

Here is the Louisburg Sports Zone Athlete of the Week for week two of the fall sports season, sponsored by Landmark National Bank.

MEGAN QUINN, SENIOR, VOLLEYBALL

Louisburg senior Megan Quinn helped the Wildcat volleyball team to a successful week that ended with a championship of the Frontenac Invitational on Saturday. In the tournament, Quinn finished with a team-high 11 aces and 78 assists to go along with 22 digs in the six-game invitational.

Earlier in the week, the Louisburg senior setter helped the Wildcats get their first win of the season over Burlington as Louisburg played nine matches on the week and went 7-2. In total, Quinn finished with 121 assists, 43 digs and 16 aces over those nine matches.

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: Declan Battle

Members of the Louisburg volleyball team that won the Frontenac Invitational are (front row, from left) Ashlyn Berck, Izzy Moreland, Hailey Sword, Madie Williams, Megan Quinn, Katie Elpers; (back row) Delaney Nelsen, Evyn Richardson, Adelyn Moore, Caileigh Kilgore and manager Kira Kundt.

FRONTENAC — Prior to Saturday, it had been a tough start to the season for the Louisburg volleyball team.

The Wildcats lost four of their first five matches to start the year and they were searching for positives when they entered the Frontenac Invitational on Saturday.

Their search came to an end as Louisburg reeled off six straight wins on its way to the Frontenac Invitational crown. The Wildcats rallied to defeat the host school in the championship match, 2-1, to complete what was a memorable day.

“Saturday’s tournament was huge for this team, and I am really proud of how we played together as a team all day to finish undefeated and win the whole thing,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “With our close losses last week, we knew that we really wanted to take advantage of the opportunity in front of us on Saturday with the chance to turn around our record and get going in the right direction. 

“Even though we weren’t perfect and still faced some adversity throughout the day, we fought hard each match to battle back and put ourselves in a position to win. Saturday was an extremely long day as we started playing at 9:15 a.m. and didn’t finish until about 7:15 p.m., so I am proud of our ability to stay focused and energized through an exhausting six-game day.”

After cruising to five straight wins, the Wildcats faced some adversity against Frontenac in the championship as they lost the first set 19-25, but rallied back to take the second 25-18.

Louisburg (7-5) found itself down 10-17 late in the third set, only to rally and win 25-22 and capture the tourney title.

“Frontenac was a really solid team,” Willer said. “They were very scrappy on defense and served tough throughout the match, pushing us out of system more than we would like. Our first set had us in a little bit of a panic mode at times, and we saw more miscommunication and errors on our side of the net. Going into the second set, we knew we just needed to regroup, reset, and start fresh. Cleaning up the little things on our side of the court made a huge difference. 

“I am most impressed with our girls being able to shake off the mistakes made in the first set to bounce back even stronger in the second. Even in the third, we dug ourselves a bit of a hole, but we dug deep and played with a ton of heart to fight back and win. I am so proud of the tenacity that these girls showed.”

In the championship match, the Wildcats got a big game at the net from seniors Hailey Sword and Madie Williams. They each finished with 11 kills to lead the Louisburg attack.

Defensively, Williams also had a big match with a team-high 17 digs, while freshman Adelyn Moore and senior libero Ashlyn Berck had 13 and 12, respectively. Junior Evyn Richardson tallied three blocks.

Louisburg had four aces in the match, including two from Berck. Offensively, senior setter Megan Quinn led the way 15 assists and Moore added 11.

Over six matches, Quinn had a strong day running the offense and behind the service line. She finished with a team-high 11 aces and had 78 assists.

Williams also had a big outing in her all-around position. She led Louisburg in both kills (43) and digs (45) and was second on the team with eight aces and nine blocks.

Sword, who plays all six rotations, was a factor all over the floor. She finished with 40 kills, 41 digs, five aces and four blocks.

Senior middle Izzy Moreland was big at the net as well with 28 kills and eight blocks. Richardson led Louisburg with 11 blocks.

Sophomores Delaney Nelsen and Caileigh Kilgore each had 15 kills and senior Katie Elpers finished with 12. 

“Megan and Madie did have great tournaments, and I think Hailey and Izzy did as well,” Willer said. “Our outsides established themselves as our go-to hitters, and it was clear that both Megan and Adelyn knew to find them when we needed a point. That being said, I think we saw a lot of positives from every single player out there throughout the day. 

“I liked seeing in each match we had some different leaders in different categories, which is exactly what we want from a well-rounded team. One of our goals will be to continue to distribute the ball through all of our hitters offensively to maintain a well-balanced attack.”

Louisburg opened the tournament with a 25-23, 25-16 win over Girard and then rolled Baxter Springs, 25-7 and 25-13. The Wildcats rounded out pool play with a 25-12, 25-13 win over St. Mary’s-Colgan and downed Chanute, 25-22 and 25-20.

The Wildcats reached the semifinals against Fort Scott and held on for a 25-20 and 25-23 win to advance to the championship. 

Willer liked what she saw from her entire team during its championship run and the way they pulled together.

“Our team chemistry was another positive for us,” Willer said. “When one player was maybe struggling in a certain aspect of the game, the rest of the team rallied around her to continue to encourage each other and lift each other up. We love to see that on those long days.”

Louisburg will try to build on its momentum today when it travels to Bonner Springs for a Frontier League dual.

Wildcats lose five-set thriller to Ottawa

Louisburg made the trip to Ottawa on Thursday for a Frontier League dual and nearly rallied for a big road win.

The Wildcats won the first set 25-21, but lost the next two, 25-11 and 25-20. Louisburg put together a strong fourth set to win 25-21 and tied the match at 2-all. 

Ottawa held off a late charge from the Wildcats to win the final set, 15-10.

Hailey Sword and Madie Williams had big nights at the net with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Senior Izzy Moreland tallied three blocks to lead the front row.

Senior setter Megan Quinn led the Wildcat offense with 21 assists and freshman setter Adelyn Moore and 17.

Defensively, Williams (15), Quinn (13) and Sword (12) all finished with double-digit digs.

Louisburg had a tough time containing one of the top players in the Frontier League, Emery Keebaugh. The Ottawa senior led all players with 26 kills as she hit from all over the floor.

“The Ottawa match was a tough battle throughout, and I am proud of the fight that we put up after losing sets 2 and 3,” coach Leanna Willer said. “Their outstanding player Emery Keebaugh is tough to stop, and it’s tough to beat a team like that who is scrappy on defense and has her as an offensive weapon in all 6 rotations. We are looking forward to a rematch with them at their home tournament in a couple of weeks.”

Louisburg junior Evyn Richardson goes up for a kill during Tuesday’s home match against Piper. The Wildcats defeated Burlington, 2-0, before falling to Piper, 2-1.

It was a mixed bag of sorts for the Louisburg volleyball team Tuesday at home.

On one hand, the Wildcats picked up their first win of the season with a 25-5 and 26-24 victory over Burlington and used that momentum to go up early in their match against Piper.

Louisburg was primed for a sweep, but the Pirates had other ideas. The Wildcats fell to the Pirates, 23-25, 25-12 and 25-22 to get a split in their home triangular.

“It was great to get that first win under our belt,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “We came out ready to roll in that first set and never looked back. It was a fun way to start the night. We are currently battling the challenge of remaining consistent, but I think we are making progress toward better consistency every day with the work we are putting in during practice, and learning from our games.”

The Wildcats got out to a fast start against Burlington as they jumped out to a 19-2 advantage in the first set, but had to battle in the second. 

Louisburg (1-4) took a 14-6 lead and appeared on its way to another easy win. Burlington had other ideas as it battled back to eventually even it up at 23-all.

Wildcat junior Evyn Richardson recorded a kill to make it 24-23, before Burlington tied it up once again. Sophomore Delaney Nelsen registered a kill to make it 25-24 and Louisburg sealed the win on an ace from Megan Quinn.

Senior Hailey Sword and Richardson each led the Wildcats with seven kills and senior Katie Elpers finished with five. Setters Adelyn Moore and Quinn finished with 11 and 10 assists, respectively.

Sword and Moore each led the Wildcat defense with six digs. From behind the service line, Louisburg tallied six aces in the match, including two from Quinn.

Louisburg got out to good start against Piper as it was able to take the first set, but struggled to get going in the second. The Wildcats bounced back nicely in third and appeared well on their way to a victory with an 18-14 lead. 

Piper had other ideas as it ended the match on an 11-4 run to get the victory over Louisburg.

“Losing that second match to Piper in three was tough, but like I said, I think it provided some really great learning moments for our whole team,” Willer said. “Making 19 more errors than the other team makes it tough to win a match. Walking into practice the next day, we were very focused on specific things that we wanted to improve after that game, and as a coach that’s all I can ask for.”

Sword led the Wildcats at the net once again as she tallied 10 kills. Senior Madie Williams finished with seven kills and also had a team-high three aces.

Moore led Louisburg in assists with 14 and Quinn added 12 to go along with two aces. Defensively, Williams had a big night for Louisburg with 11 digs and senior Ashlyn Berck added seven.

Louisburg will try and bounce back tonight as it gets back into league play. The Wildcats travel to Ottawa for a 6:30 p.m. start.

Louisburg’s Evyn Richardson (left) and Hailey Sword team up for a block during a match earlier this season.

DE SOTO — Going against bigger programs can be difficult and the Louisburg volleyball faced its fair share of challenges Thursday.

The Wildcats traveled to De Soto for a triangular with Olathe West and left with a pair of setbacks. Louisburg lost to Olathe West 24-12 and 25-16 and also fell to De Soto 25-19 and 25-20.

“Thursday presented a couple of tough opponents for us,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “I thought we did a good job of keeping ourselves in the game and battling throughout the night. There were also a couple of key things that we worked on in practice Wednesday after last Tuesday’s game that I was happy to see improvement in on Thursday.”

Louisburg senior Hailey Sword led the Wildcat offense at the net with 10 kills on the night and senior Madie Williams finished with seven.

Middle blockers Izzy Moreland Evyn Richardson also played strong as Moreland finished with six kills to go along with a team-high four blocks. Richardson had three blocks on the night, as did senior Katie Elpers.

Offensively, senior Megan Quinn led the Wildcat offense with 15 assists on the night and freshman Adelyn Moore tallied seven. Quinn also led the defense with a team-high 14 digs.

“Both middles, Izzy and Evyn, did a good job of making themselves available in the offense and capitalizing on their opportunities,” Willer said. “Also, I thought that Megan had a great defensive night as she actually led our team in digs. Very proud of her.”

Senior libero Bronwynn Williams and Madie Williams each tallied 10 digs on the night, while senior Ashlyn Berck led Louisburg from behind the service line with three aces.

Louisburg (0-3) is back in action tonight as the Wildcats host Burlington and Piper in a triangular. The Wildcats will play Burlington at 4:30 p.m., and Piper at 6:30.

Louisburg senior Madie Williams sends the ball over the net Tuesday during the Wildcats’ season opener against Baldwin at Louisburg High School.

In its season opener Tuesday, Louisburg found itself in a rematch of the sub-state championship match from a season ago.

The Wildcats hosted Baldwin, a team they defeated on their way to a fourth-place state tournament finish.

Unfortunately for Louisburg, the result wasn’t quite the same this time around.

Baldwin won the first two sets and held on for a 3-1 victory (25-20, 25-18, 19-25, 27-25) over Louisburg. Despite the early deficit, the Wildcats battled back to almost force a fifth set.

“I thought we played pretty well for the first match of the year,” Louisburg coach Leanna Willer said. “We saw some nerves for sure in that first set, but I think we settled in pretty well and fought hard throughout the match. There were some impressive rallies and great plays made by both teams, which made for a fun night. Regardless of the outcome, I am proud of how hard we fought and how we stayed together working as a team throughout the match.”

Through the first two sets, the Wildcats had a tough time slowing down the Bulldog attack at the net — more specifically Fisayo Afonja. 

The Baldwin senior, who is one of the top players in Class 4A this season, made an impact all over the floor. Afonja finished with a team-high 31 kills and also had 21 digs with her play in the back row as she made things difficult on the Wildcats.

“She is a truly impressive player all around,” Willer said of Afonja. “The toughest thing about her is that she can come from anywhere and hit any tempo set. She also has a crazy high vertical, and with that extra hang time she can turn in the air to find the open court. We started to do a better job of finding her in the third and fourth sets to put up a better block, so that helped us compete better with their strong offense.”

The Wildcats got out to a shaky start with the back-to-back 25-20 and 25-18 losses, but gathered themselves and put together a strong performance the rest of the way.

After a convincing 25-19 win in the third set, Louisburg found itself in a back-and-forth match with the Bulldogs, but after forcing extra points, fell 27-25.

Louisburg senior Madie Williams had a big night to lead the Wildcats as she finished with a team-high 26 kills as she had plenty of opportunities from both the front and back rows. She also led the team defensively with 19 digs.

“Madie had an awesome night,” Willer said. “She established herself early, and continued to be the go to hitter for both of our setters. They know that they can give the ball to her at any time and she’s going to make the most of it. I was also pleased to see her court awareness shine through as she made some very smart decisions with her attack choices. She’s not afraid to go up and take a huge swing or mix in a tip, and we saw how successful that can be. 

“Additionally, I thought she passed very well and made some big plays on defense. She has a natural ability to read the court and anticipate what’s coming next, which is huge for us.”

It was also the first time the Wildcats implemented their two-setter offense with senior Megan Quinn and freshman Adelyn Moore. Quinn finished with a team-high 25 assists and Moore had 19 of her own. Quinn also had a strong game defensively with 12 digs.

“I think they both did a great job,” Willer said. “They spread the ball around, but also found a way to find our hot hitters as much as they could. I love seeing their relationship in between plays, time outs, and sets as well. Megan is a wonderful leader and has really taken Adelyn under her wing to help our team be the best we can be.”

Senior Hailey Sword also had a big game at the net with 11 kills, and defensively she was second on the team with 17 digs.

Also on defense, senior libero Bronwynn Williams tallied 17 digs, while senior Izzy Moreland finished with a team-high five blocks from her middle blocker spot.

“I thought our serve receive passing was pretty strong for the majority of the night, and I loved our defensive effort,” Willer said. “I think every person on the floor stepped up in moments where they were able to shine a little bit, so I love seeing that well-rounded aspect of our team.”

Louisburg will try and bounce back today as the Wildcats travel to De Soto for a triangular with Olathe West. Matches begin at 5 p.m.