The Kansas State High School Activities Association released sub-state and regional pairings today for volleyball and cross country.

The Louisburg High School volleyball team will compete at Paola High School on Oct. 21 along with Ottawa, Paola and Spring Hill.

Atchison HS – Matt Renk, Manager(s) (1 Court)
Atchison HS; Basehor-Linwood HS; Kansas City-Piper HS; Tonganoxie HS;

Chanute HS – Eric Flaton, Manager(s) (1 Court)
Andover Central HS; Augusta HS; Chanute HS; Rose Hill HS;

El Dorado HS – Brian Engelken, Manager(s) (1 Court)
Abilene HS; El Dorado HS; Towanda-Circle HS; Wamego HS;

Fort Scott HS – Larry Fink, Manager(s) (1 Court)
Altamont-Labette County HS; Coffeyville-Field Kindley HS; Fort Scott HS; Independence HS;

Paola HS – Darin Gagnebin, Manager(s) (1 Court)
Louisburg HS; Ottawa HS; Paola HS; Spring Hill HS;

Shawnee Mission-Bishop Miege HS – Mike Hubka, Manager(s) (1 Court)
Bonner Springs HS; Eudora HS; Kansas City-Sumner Academy; Shawnee Mission-Bishop Miege HS;

Ulysses HS – Jason Kenny, Manager(s) (1 Court)
Buhler HS; Hays HS; McPherson HS; Ulysses HS;

Winfield HS – Billy Tipps, Manager(s) (1 Court)
Arkansas City HS; Mulvane HS; Wellington HS; Winfield HS;

The Louisburg High School cross country team will travel south to Burlington for its regional meet on Oct. 21.

CLASS 4A

(Saturday, October 21, 2017)

4 Regionals…3 Teams Qualifying Per Regional,
Top Ten Runners With Possibility of Additional Individual Qualifiers

BURLINGTON HS (Burlington-John Redmond Res. Dam) Dave Watkins, Manager

GIRLS – 10:00a.m.

BOYS – 10:40 a.m.

Baxter Springs HS, Burlington HS, Chanute HS, Columbus HS, Fort Scott HS, Frontenac HS, Galena HS, Garnett-Anderson County HS, Girard HS, Iola HS, LaCygne-Prairie View HS, Louisburg HS, Osawatomie HS, Ottawa HS, Paola HS, Parsons HS

EL DORADO HS (El Dorado Lake State Park) Brian Engelken, Manager

GIRLS – 10:00 a.m.

BOYS – 10:40 a.m.

Altamont-Labette County HS, Andale HS, Andover Central HS, Arkansas City HS, Augusta HS, Clearwater HS, Coffeyville-Field Kindley HS, El Dorado HS, Independence HS, Mulvane HS, Rose Hill HS, Towanda-Circle HS, Wellington HS, Wichita-Collegiate HS, Wichita-Trinity Academy, Winfield HS

LANSING HS (Wyandotte County Park) Gary Mattingly & Brian Malm, Managers

GIRLS – 10:45 a.m.

BOYS – 12:15 p.m.

Atchison HS, Baldwin HS, Basehor-Linwood HS, Bonner Springs HS, Eudora HS, Holton HS, Kansas City-Bishop Ward HS, Kansas City-Piper HS, Kansas City-Sumner Academy, Marysville HS, Meriden-Jefferson West HS, Sante Fe Trail HS, Shawnee Mission-Bishop Miege HS, Spring Hill HS, Tonganoxie HS, Topeka-Hayden HS

MCPHERSON HS (McPherson-Rolling Acres Golf Course) Shane Backhus, Manager

GIRLS – 10:30 a.m.

BOYS – 11:10 a.m.

Abilene HS, Buhler HS, Chapman HS, Clay Center Community HS, Concordia HS, Hays HS, Holcomb HS, Hugoton HS, Larned HS, Lindsborg-Smoky Valley HS, McPherson HS, Nickerson HS, Pratt HS, St. George-Rock Creek HS, Ulysses HS, Wamego HS

Louisburg’s Haley Cain (left) and Anna Dixon team up for a block Tuesday during the Lady Cats’ league dual with Paola at Paola High School. Louisburg improved its record to 21-6 with a 3-1 win. 

PAOLA – Focus and energy wasn’t a problem for the Louisburg High School volleyball team Tuesday as rival Paola had its full attention.

The Lady Cats, the No. 2 ranked team in Class 4A-Division 1, traveled to Paola for a Frontier League dual and they put all that energy to good use as they jumped out to a quick 25-17 win in the first set. Although that focus might have gone away a little after falling in the second set 21-25, Louisburg responded with a convincing 25-12 and 25-15 victory in the final two sets to win the match, 3-1.

“They were pumped,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “It is always a good rivalry between Louisburg and Paola every time we play. The girls were excited and ready for the match. I think in that second set our energy level went down a little bit because we used a lot of that adrenaline early on and we made a few more mistakes. But overall I thought we played well.”

Paola didn’t have much of an answer for Louisburg’s Anna Dixon as she caused havoc at the net for the Panthers. Dixon, a 6-foot-2 junior, put away a team-high 20 kills to lead the Lady Cats.

Sophomore Haley Cain also had a big night with 10 kills and senior Sophie McMullen added nine in the win.

A lot of those kills were thanks to junior setter Carson Buffington as she tallied 36 assists on the evening.

“Anna swung well on the outside and she and Carson are really starting to connect,” Compliment said. “Carson is starting to connect well the hitters across the board, and with that happening, she is starting to get more confidence. Anna, and others like Sophie and Haley, really had some nice hits.”

Louisburg (21-6) also did some damage from behind the service line as the Lady Cats recorded 15 aces in the four sets. McMullen and Cain both led Louisburg with four aces, while Buffington, Dixon and libero Riley Kallevig each added two.

“The girls served really well and were a lot more aggressive,” Compliment said. “Carson and Riley both stepped up and served well and did well on their spot serves.”

Senior Mikayla Quinn goes up for a kill Tuesday against Paola.

Defensively, McMullen was busy as she recorded 21 digs on the night and Dixon finished with 11 from her all-around spot. Kallevig added nine digs in the victory.

The Lady Cats got off to a good start as they ended the first set on a 12-3 run to go up 1-0 and then staked themselves a 16-13 lead in the second before Paola stormed back and went on a 12-5 run of its own to tie the match.

In a pivotal third set, Louisburg made sure the match wasn’t going to be in doubt. The Lady Cats took leads of 10-3 and 20-8 to win the third set easily and did much of the same in the fourth.

“One of the thing we have been working on is just finishing things and coming out with an attitude of going after every point,” Compliment said. “I thought the girls did a good job of that, especially after the second set.”

Louisburg will have the rest of the week off before it hosts Spring Hill on Tuesday for another Frontier League dual.

The Kansas High School Activities Association released the classifications for the 2017-18 season on Tuesday morning, and for Louisburg High School, much remains the same.

The Wildcats are currently a Class 4A-Division I program with 532 students, but after this season the classification system will change. Class 4A will get rid of the divisions and 4A will have just 36 schools. Louisburg is still expected to be in 4A for the foreseeable future.

However, several schools across the state made classification changes.

Arkansas City and Sumner Academy dropped from Class 5A to 4A for the upcoming season, while Galena, Hugoton and Marysville all moved up to 4A. Maize South jumped from 4A to 5A.

Colby , Goodland, Scott City and Haven all dropped from 4A to 3A schools, while McLouth moved up from 2A to 3A.

Hays is currently the largest 4A school with 791 students, followed by Sumner Academy (782), Andover Central (764), Bonner Springs (762) and Arkansas City (757).

Sub-state and regional assignments for the fall season will be released in the coming days.

Louisburg senior Sophie McMullen goes up for a kill Saturday during the Lady Cats’ match with Olathe North at the Louisburg Invitational. The Lady Cats finished in fifth place overall with a 4-1 record.

In most tournaments, going 4-1 and knocking off a pair of state-ranked teams in the process, usually means your team is going to leave with some sort of hardware.

The Louisburg High School volleyball team did just that – well, everything but the hardware part anyway.

The Lady Cats’ lone loss in the Louisburg Invitational on Saturday came in pool play and two other teams in their pool finished with a 2-1 record. Louisburg fell to Shawnee Mission West in two sets, but beat Leavenworth in two and knocked off state-ranked Olathe North in three sets.

The top two teams in each pool moved on to the championship bracket, but Louisburg wasn’t one of those as it lost the tiebreaker and were sent to compete in the consolation bracket at Louisburg Middle School.

Louisburg, the No. 3 team in Class 4A-Division I, didn’t let that get it down as it won its final two matches of the day to finish in fifth place, including a win over No. 2 Basehor-Linwood in the fifth-place match. Despite the good record and big victories, the Lady Cats wanted more.

“The moral of the story is every match and every single set is important,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “It may have been a different story had we beaten Olathe North in two, or if we beat Shawnee Mission West. Every game, every set and every match is important and you can’t take them for granted. Losing that match to Shawnee Mission West, or losing a set to Olathe North is what pushed us into the bottom half of the bracket, going 4-1 and ending in fifth place.”

Pool play started well for the Lady Cats as they opened with a 25-21 and 25-21 win over Leavenworth, but Louisburg saw its one setback happen in its next match. Shawnee Mission West knocked off Louisburg 25-20 and 25-21 that forced a must-win match-up against Olathe North, the No. 4 team in Class 6A, in its final pool play contest.

The Lady Cats (20-6) rallied from behind in the third set against Olathe North to win 25-19, 20-25 and 25-23. Louisburg opened that third set with an 8-2 lead, only to see North go on a 9-0 run to grab an 11-8 advantage.

(From left): Carson Buffington, Sophie McMullen, Haley Cain, Reilly Ratliff-Becher and Anna Dixon celebrate a big point Saturday against Olathe North.

Olathe North led 15-9, but the Lady Cats went on a 7-1 run to tie it at 16-all. Louisburg then came back again from a 19-16 deficit to go up 22-20 and eventually hold on to win.

Junior Anna Dixon and senior Sophie McMullen gave the Lady Cats a big boost when they needed it the most. Dixon had a team-high 14 kills to go along with 12 digs, while McMullen was all over the place on defense with 21 digs and also had 12 kills to go along with a team-best six aces.

“We got down several times where we had to battle back,” Compliment said. “The Olathe North match was a tough one and they are a good team and for them to come and win that third set was good. They showed their confidence, they were aggressive and they didn’t pull back. That is what is frustrating sometimes is that we play our best against certain teams and other teams we relax and don’t play as well.”

The victory gave the Lady Cats a 2-1 record in pool play and finished in a three-way tie for first. Louisburg lost the tiebreaker based on set percentage and were sent to the consolation bracket.

It was there Louisburg opened bracket play with a 25-19 and 25-15 win over Fort Scott and then exacted some revenge in its fifth-place match with Basehor-Linwood. The Lady Cats had lost to Basehor twice already this season, but came through this time with a 25-20 and 26-24 win.

Once again, the Lady Cats had to come from behind and did so with a big comeback in the second set. Louisburg found itself down 22-14, before finishing the match on a 12-2 run.

“I talk to the girls a lot about finishing the match, or finishing the set and don’t sit back and think it is going to happen,” Compliment said. “To see them come from behind and beat Basehor, a team that has beaten us twice already this year, was big. We were down eight points at one time and that was great to see them battle back and not give up.

Mikayla Quinn (left) and Anna Dixon rise up for a block Saturday during the Louisburg Invitational.

“They were disappointed that they had to come over to the middle school. At the same time, we finished 4-1, and yeah we lost to Shawnee Mission West, who we had beaten previously earlier in the year. We didn’t start out well and we didn’t play with a lot of urgency. But for them to get four wins, especially against Olathe North and Basehor-Linwood, those are big confidence victories for the rest of the year. Losing that tiebreaker taught our girls that every set is important. I have seen teams go 2-1 in pool play out at state and have gone home. You can’t take anything for granted.”

Dixon had a big day at the net for the Lady Cats as she had a team-high 59 kills and nine blocks to go along with 54 digs.

McMullen recorded a team-best 10 aces and added to 39 kills and 38 digs to her stat line.

Junior setter Carson Buffington ran the offense well for the Lady Cats with 118 assists and defensively had 24 digs. Sophomore Haley Cain had 21 kills and four blocks, while senior Mikayla Quinn finished with 10 kills and six blocks.

Defensively, sophomore libero Riley Kallevig and sophomore Reilly Ratliff-Becher also had positive impacts for the Lady Cats. Kallevig had 38 digs to go along with eight aces and Ratliff-Becher finished with 27 digs.

Reilly Ratliff-Becher digs up a ball Saturday during the Lady Cats’ home tournament.

“Reilly and Riley do a good job of reading stuff and they are fun to watch in the back row, especially with both of them being sophomores and watching them grow,” Compliment said. “We transitioned Reilly from being a JV setter to being on the back row on defense and has done a good job of embracing that role.”

Louisburg returns to action tonight when it travels to rival Paola for a Frontier League dual. Freshmen is set to begin at 4:30 p.m., with junior varsity and varsity to follow.

Louisburg gets league road win

The Louisburg High School volleyball team didn’t have much of a problem on the road Thursday at Baldwin in a Frontier League dual.

The Lady Cats rolled to a 25-14, 25-9 and 25-9 win over Baldwin as they still have just one league loss on the season, which was to De Soto earlier in the year.

Louisburg recorded 13 aces on the night, including seven from senior Sophie McMullen. McMullen and junior Anna Dixon were big at the net with 15 kills each and sophomore Haley Cain added seven.

Junior Carson Buffington came through with 31 assists. McMullen and sophomore libero Riley Kallevig had 16 and 15 digs, respectively, to lead Louisburg defensively.

“The team played really well for all three sets,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “They came out ready to play and never let up all evening. Sophie and Anna both had a great night on the service line. They both had some big serves, and made some great plays at the net. Our back row defense was pretty spot on all night as well.”

Louisburg sophomore Haley Cain goes up for a kill against Prairie View on Thursday at Louisburg High School. The Lady Cats rolled to 2-0 wins over Prairie View, Fort Scott and Osawatomie in their home quadrangular. 

When the latest Kansas Volleyball Coaches Association rankings came out last week, the Louisburg High School volleyball team got a little bit of good news during what was a rough patch.

The Lady Cats were in the midst of a three-game losing streak when it was announced that they were the No. 2 team in Class 4A-Division I. That good news carried over Thursday into their home quadrangular.

Louisburg snapped its losing skid and replaced it with a three-game winning streak after the Lady Cats rolled to easy 2-0 wins over Osawatomie, Fort Scott and Prairie View at Louisburg High School. The wins improved the Lady Cats’ record to 15-5 on the season.

“The three wins Thursday evening were nice,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “The whole program (freshman and junior varsity) swept their quads as well so nine wins for the program was great to see.

“Overall we played okay. We lost our focus at times and it showed that we need to continue working on our mental game and minimizing errors.”

Osawatomie was the Lady Cats’ first foe and Louisburg didn’t have much of a problem in a 25-10 and 25-12 victory.

The Lady Cats played well all over the court, but got a good performance from Sophie McMullen. The Louisburg senior recorded seven of the team’s 11 aces in the match and also had a team-high seven kills.

Senior Sarah Wilson rises up for a kill against Prairie View.

Sophomore libero Riley Kallevig and junior Anna Dixon both had a team-high six digs, while setter Carson Buffington tallied 14 assists in the match. Sophomore Reilly Ratliff-Becher and McMullen contributed four digs, while Dixon and sophomore Haley Cain had four and three kills, respecitively.

It was much of the same in the Lady Cats’ next game when they squared off with Fort Scott. Louisburg controlled the match from the opening serve in its 25-6 and 25-9 victory.

Dixon had a big performance at the net with a team-high 12 kills. As a team, the Lady Cats had a big night from behind service line with 12 aces. Dixon and Cain led the way with three each, while Buffington and McMullen recorded two.

Buffington ran the Lady Cat offense well with 16 assists, while Kallevig led the defense with seven digs. McMullen and Ratliff-Becher had five and four digs, respectively.

Louisburg didn’t let up in its final match of the day as it continued its dominance with a 25-10 and 25-9 win over Prairie View.

Dixon, once again, had another big outing at the net with a team-high 16 kills and McMullen recorded six. McMullen also served well as she recorded five of the team’s 14 aces. Kallevig, Cain and Buffington each added three each.

Senior Ainsley Vance gets ready to make a pass to a teammate Thursday in the Lady Cats’ home triangular.

Buffington had 22 assists in the win, while Kallevig had another big match on defense with a team-high eight digs and McMullen had six.

The Lady Cats will try to keep that winning streak going tonight when it travels to Baldwin for a Frontier League dual. The freshman match will start at 4:30 p.m., with the junior varsity and varsity to follow.

De Soto wins battle of ranked teams

Going into their Frontier League dual on Sept. 12, both the Louisburg and De Soto volleyball teams were ranked in their respective classifications.

It was a battle between the league’s top two teams – a battle De Soto won.

De Soto, the No. 6 team in Class 5A at the time, defeated Louisburg 25-17, 25-15 and 25-23 to hand the Lady Cats their first league loss of the season.

The Lady Cats struggled to get going in the first two sets, but managed to take a 23-21 lead late in the third to try and force a fourth set. Instead, De Soto scored the final four points to earn the sweep.

Senior Sophie McMullen and junior Anna Dixon were both active at the net with 12 kills each and McMullen also had two aces. Junior setter Carson Buffington recorded 26 assists

Defensively, sophomore libero Riley Kallevig had a team-high 19 digs, while Dixon and McMullen finished with 17 and 14, respectively.

Louisburg’s Mikayla Quinn (left) and Carson Buffington celebrate a big kill by Sophie McMullen (12) during the Lady Cats’ dual with Lansing on Thursday at Louisburg High School. The Lady Cats competed in the Lansing Invitational on Saturday and finished fourth.

LANSING – The Louisburg volleyball team’s schedule ramped up Saturday when it traveled to the Lansing Invitational and faced off with several bigger programs and ranked teams.

Louisburg more than held its own as the Lady Cats ventured through pool play undefeated and made it the championship bracket. The final two matches didn’t go as the Lady Cats had hoped as they fell to De Soto and Basehor-Linwood in two sets to settle for fourth overall.

“The team played well during pool play,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “We saw a lot of good teams who challenged us. We got behind in a few matches and rallied back to win so I was pleased to see that fight in them.

“We had some great defensive plays throughout the day which helped lift up our offense and lit a fire under the players and team.”

The Lady Cats opened the tournament against Frontier League foe, Spring Hill, and came away with a 25-19 and 26-24 win, thanks in part to their defense.

Sophomore libero Riley Kallevig recorded a team-high 17 digs and senior Sophie McMullen added 13 in the win. Junior Anna Dixon led the way offensively with 14 kills and McMullen added eight.

Louisburg was able to exact some revenge for a loss earlier in the season, when the Lady Cats (12-4) knocked off Basehor-Linwood in the second pool play match, 25-20, 22-25 and 25-16.

McMullen led the Lady Cats from behind the service line as she recorded six of the nine aces during the three-set match. Dixon and McMullen also came up big at the net as the notched 19 and 11 kills, respectively. Carson Buffington led Louisburg offense with 32 assists.

Defense was again key for Louisburg as McMullen tallied 20 digs, while sophomore Reilly Ratliff-Becher had 12. Buffington also had 11 digs in the win.

The Lady Cats, who are currently ranked No. 4 in Class 4A-Division I, had an easy time against Topeka Seaman in a 25-18, 25-15 victory, but they had a tussle in their final pool play match.

Louisburg faced off with Shawnee Mission West, a Class 6A program, and won in three sets – 25-19, 17-25 and 28-26.

Dixon came up big in the match as she led the Lady Cats in three different categories. Dixon finished with six aces, 19 kills and also had 10 digs on defense.

Sophomore libero Riley Kallevig saves a ball from going out-of-bounds Thursday against Lansing.

McMullen added 16 kills in the victory, while Buffington handed out 33 assists in what was a frantic match.

The championship bracket proved to be much tougher for the Lady Cats as they met De Soto in the semifinals. De Soto, which is ranked No. 6 in Class 5A, downed Louisburg 25-19 and 26-24.

“We played well against De Soto, but made a few too many mistakes that they capitalized on that cost us in the end,” Compliment said. “The second match was a well-played match, but we came up short.”

The Lady Cats had a rematch with Basehor-Linwood in the third-place match and came up short this time in a 25-22 and 25-21 loss.

“The Lansing tournament is full of good teams, but it is also a long day with six matches,” Compliment said. “I think fatigue played a role during the last match with Basehor, but it’s also not an excuse for how we came out with zero energy. I would have liked to see more of a fight out of the team, but they were exhausted. Basehor had more energy and made fewer mistakes than we did during the last match.”

In the tournament overall, McMullen had a big day for the Lady Cats, especially on defense. She racked up a team-high 74 digs and also had 58 kills to go along with a team-high 16 aces.

Dixon led the Lady Cats offensively with a team-high 79 kills, 11 blocks and eight aces.

Buffington, the team’s setter, finished the day with 142 assists to go along with 39 digs. Kallevig was second on the team with 64 digs and also had seven aces.

Haley Cain (20 kills, five blocks), Ratliff-Becher (30 digs) and Mikayla Quinn (eight kills, six blocks) also came up big at times throughout the day.

Louisburg will get another chance at De Soto today as it will host the Wildcats for a league dual. Varsity is set to begin at approximately 6:30 p.m.

Louisburg falls to Lansing in home dual

The Louisburg High School volleyball team got off to a good start against the No. 2 ranked team in Class 5A as the Lady Cats captured the first set against Lansing on Thursday.

After that, however, Lansing showed why it is ranked so high.

The Lions won the next three sets to defeat Louisburg 23-25, 25-16 25-15 and 25-18.

Junior Anna Dixon led the Lady Cats with a team-high 25 kills, while setter Carson Buffington added 35 assists. Defensively, McMullen finished the day with 23 digs and libero Riley Kallevig recorded 14.

McMullen and Mikayla Quinn also had 10 and six kills, respectively, to help out the Lady Cat offense.

Louisburg junior Carson Buffington (left) sets up teammate Haley Cain for a kill Thursday against Santa Fe Trail. The Lady Cats defeated both Burlington and Santa Fe Trail during a triangular at Louisburg High School.

The Louisburg High School volleyball team had its hands full Tuesday as the Lady Cats saw a pair of ranked teams invade their gym.

Burlington and Santa Fe Trail, who were slotted at No. 4 and No. 7, respectively, in Class 4A-Division II, each had a shot to knock off Louisburg – which is ranked No. 4 in Class 4A-Division 1. In the battle of top teams, the Lady Cats won each time.

Louisburg handed Burlington its first loss of the season with a 25-18 and 25-20 win in the first match of the triangular. The Lady Cats then did the same against Santa Fe Trail as they rallied to win the first set 26-24 and won the second 25-16.

Against Burlington, the Lady Cats (8-1) were in control in both sets but let Burlington hang around due to some miscues. Still, Louisburg was able to pull away when it needed to in both sets.

Junior Anna Dixon led the Louisburg offense with 12 kills and senior Sophie McMullen added eight. McMullen also finished with a team-high three aces and nine digs.

Setter Carson Buffington tallied 20 assists, five digs and two aces in the victory and Dixon had six digs defensively.

“The first match against Burlington, we just didn’t play with a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “We just kind of went through the motions. I think we missed about 10 serves and had way too many errors. I told them they need to find some energy or some spark out there for their next match and I think they were able to do that.”

The Lady Cats needed to find that energy as they found themselves with their backs against wall in their first set with Santa Fe Trail. Louisburg was on the verge of losing the first set as they trailed 23-19, but the Lady Cats rallied behind a pair of kills and an ace from McMullen, and a kill from Dixon, to pull out the 26-24 win.

Louisburg used that momentum to pull away from Santa Fe Trail in the second set and won the match going away.

Senior Sophie McMullen goes up for a kill Thursday against Santa Fe Trail.

“For them to come back in that first set was huge,” Compliment said. “I always tell the girls that they have to stay aggressive. If they start pulling back, then the other team is going to get the momentum. I was proud of how they answered back and dug out of that deficit to come back and win. That energy just carried over into the second one.

“When they play together, and play with high energy like that, a mistake here or there isn’t going to hurt as much as when we play flat. I thought we really picked it up there and it was good to see.”

Defense propelled the Lady Cats against Santa Fe Trail as they recorded 26 digs as a team. Riley Kallevig, the team’s libero, led the team with six digs. Sophomore Reilly Ratliff-Becher and McMullen also added five digs a piece in the win, while Dixon and Buffington added four each.

Senior Mikayla Quinn had a strong game at the net with a team-high four blocks, while sophomores Haley Cain and Erin Lemke each added three.

“Our defense was good there,” Compliment said. “Santa Fe has some good hitters and they were a good team. I thought our defense really stepped up against them and did a good job. Our back row did a great job as Kallevig had some big digs, Sophie had some big saves in the back and our hitters were stepping up. We had some aggressive serves that went in as well.”

Sophomore Reilly Ratliff-Becher chases down a ball Thursday against Santa Fe Trail.

Kallevig and McMullen each finished with a pair of aces and McMullen added nine kills to her line. Dixon led the Lady Cats with a team-high 10 kills and Buffington had 21 assists.

Another ranked team will make its way to Louisburg today as the Lady Cats will face off with Lansing – the No. 2 team in Class 5A. Louisburg will follow that up with a trip to Lansing on Saturday for the Lansing Invitational in what is another tough stretch in its schedule.

“We have to come ready to go because Lansing is going to be a tough match,” Compliment said. “They are always good and it is great competition. We have the home court advantage, so hopefully that plays to our hand. The Lansing tournament is always tough and I think it will give us a good idea of where we are at after playing outside of some of our area schools.”

LOUISBURG SHUTS DOWN OLATHE SOUTH

The Louisburg volleyball team continued its schedule of playing larger programs on Sept. 1 when it hosted Olathe South.

The bigger school didn’t intimidate the Lady Cats as they downed Olathe South 25-10, 26-24 and 25-21 in the best-of-5 dual. Although it wasn’t the cleanest of matches, the Lady Cats were happy to take the win, but they know there are things they have to work on.

“Of Olathe South’s 10 points in the first set, 7 or 8 were on our errors,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “I think we had a lack of focus to start. We got down in the second set and we really had to dig deep and push to come out and win. I think we finished strong in the third set and they just need to find that level of intensity in every match. We lacked a little bit of tenacity and it showed at times.”

Senior Sophie McMullen led the Louisburg attack with 17 kills to go along with a team-high three aces. Junior Anna Dixon added 16 kills in the win and junior setter Carson Buffington recorded 33 assists.

Defensively, Dixon led Louisburg at the net with four blocks, while senior Mikayla Quinn and sophomore Haley Cain each had three. Libero Riley Kallevig, sophomore Reilly Ratliff-Becher, Dixon and McMullen finished five digs on the night.

Louisburg senior Mikayla Quinn tips the ball over the net Tuesday against Blue Valley Southwest at Louisburg High School. The Lady Cats defeated Southwest in five sets to improve its record to 5-1 on the season.

It hasn’t even been a full week into the season, and it was just one win, but the Louisburg High School volleyball team got a big victory Tuesday against Blue Valley Southwest.

The win was important but the way the Lady Cats pulled it off could pay dividends for the rest of their season.

Down 2-1, and on the verge of elimination, the Lady Cats rallied to win the final two sets and defeat Blue Valley Southwest 25-20, 19-25, 23-25, 26-24 and 15-9 in Louisburg. It was a victory the Lady Cats hope gives them confidence later on in the season.

“Coming back down 1-2 to win the last two sets is huge,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “The fourth set was 26-24, so it wasn’t easy, but the players battled to the end. We seemed to start each set strong but would hit a wall and start pulling back once Southwest made a few runs. That is something we’ll need to work on as the season progresses – establishing mental toughness and persevering.

“We lost some energy during the second and third set which Blue Valley Southwest capitalized on. Overall, I was pleased with how the team rallied back, played together and finished the night.”

Louisburg senior Sophie McMullen guided the Lady Cats back from the brink of defeat to give them new life. McMullen recorded eight kills, three aces and a block in the fourth set alone to help the Lady Cats to the two-point win.

McMullen finished the match with 22 kills, 19 digs, nine aces and four blocks to lead Louisburg in a back-and-forth night.

“Sophie did a great job of making some big plays down the stretch that kept us in the match and helped us pull out the win,” Compliment said. “She had a few huge hits as well as some big serves. Our middles (Haley Cain and Mikayla Quinn) established themselves early in the match which helped all of the hitters stand a better chance for a split block or a one-on-one opportunity. Carson (Buffington) did a good job of moving the offense around to each of the hitters.”

Junior Anna Dixon goes up for a block Tuesday against Blue Valley Southwest.

Buffington had a good evening running the offense with 46 assists in the five sets and set up several teammates in the process.

Junior Anna Dixon had a team-high 30 kills to go along with four aces and six blocks. Cain finished with six kills and five blocks in the middle.

Defensively, Dixon added 16 digs to her line, while Buffington and sophomore libero Riley Kallevig added 10.

Louisburg (5-1) jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first set and kept the Timberwolves at arm’s length to get off to a good start. Louisburg again got out quickly for a 5-1 lead in the second set, but Southwest stormed back to take the lead midway through the set and held on.

The Lady Cats held a 13-11 lead in the third, only to watch the Timberwolves come back again and capture the set.

Louisburg had to win the final two to pull off the comeback – and it did.

McMullen helped give Louisburg an early 5-1 lead after a pair of aces, and after Southwest tried to comeback again, McMullen responded with four kills and an ace to give Louisburg a 14-12 advantage.

The Timberwolvers eventually took a 17-16 lead, but a Quinn kill tied the match and the Lady Cats responded with a McMullen kill and an ace from Dixon to regain the lead at 19-17.

Blue Valley Southwest led 22-21 late, but a kill and a tip from McMullen gave the Lady Cats the advantage back and Louisburg held on thanks to a pair of Dixon kills that ended the set when it was tied at 24-all.

Louisburg used that momentum and left no doubt on who would take that deciding fifth set. The Lady Cats jumped out to an 11-3 lead thanks to three kills and an ace from Dixon and cruised from there.

The Lady Cats will try for another dual win tonight when it hosts Olathe South. Freshmen begins at 4:30 p.m., with junior varsity and varsity to follow.

Louisburg junior Anna Dixon sends a kill past the outstretched arms of two Paola blockers Saturday during the Frontier League Tournament at Louisburg High School. Dixon and the Lady Cats finished third overall with a 4-1 record on the day.

The Louisburg High School volleyball team is considered one of the top teams in the Frontier League and its No. 3 state ranking is one of those reasons.

On Saturday during the Frontier League Tournament, the Lady Cats looked strong early as they didn’t lose a set in pool play. However, it was one match that tripped them up.

Louisburg lost to Basehor-Linwood in the semifinals 25-22 and 26-24 and the Lady Cats were denied a spot in the championship match at Louisburg High School. The Lady Cats did end the day on a positive note as they ousted Spring Hill 25-14 and 25-18 to finish in third place.

De Soto cruised to win its second consecutive league tournament and didn’t lose a set on the day.

“For the first go-round this season, I think we started stronger to start the day and I just think we had more energy in the morning,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “I think the girls were excited with the anticipation of getting the season going and our energy level was higher in the first two matches. After that, I think we started to level off and play more comfortable and more timid.”

The Lady Cats (4-1) opened pool play the right way as they rolled Baldwin 25-14 and 25-11. Senior Sophie McMullen gave Louisburg the boost it needed from behind the service line as she recorded 11 aces between the two sets and also added five kills.

Junior Anna Dixon led the Lady Cats with nine kills and junior setter Carson Buffington tallied 18 assists to lead the Louisburg offense. Defensively, sophomore libero Riley Kallevig added three digs.

Louisburg didn’t let up as it defeated Spring Hill 25-23 and 25-11 to earn its second pool play win behind 10 kills and six blocks from Dixon and five kills and five digs from McMullen. Kallevig and McMullen each had a pair of aces the win.

Sophomore Erin Lemke (left) and senior Mikayla Quinn rise up for a block Saturday against Spring Hill.

The Lady Cats got to exact some revenge in their final pool play match against Paola. The Panthers ended Louisburg’s season a year ago, but the Lady Cats rallied to win the first set 25-17 and won the second 25-18 to finish pool play undefeated.

Dixon had nine kills to lead the Lady Cats in the winning effort. Louisburg also served well with nine aces, including four from Dixon and three from Kallevig. Buffington also had 16 assists in the win.

Basehor-Linwood proved to be a much tougher opponent for the Louisburg in the semifinals. The Lady Cats had to play from behind most of the match, but did rally late in the second set to try and force a deciding third, but couldn’t overtake a pesky Bobcat team.

“Basehor has always been a scrappy team,” Compliment said. “We just kind of struggled getting around their blocks and coming together as a team. I think we just let them dominate us mentally more than anything on that front. We didn’t play together as well as we should have.”

Sophomore Haley Cain stepped up in the front row to lead Louisburg with seven kills, while McMullen and Dixon each finished with six.

Senior Mikayla Quinn added four kills and Buffington tallied 18 assists. McMullen led the Louisburg defense with six digs.

Haley Cain goes up for a kill in the semifinals Saturday against Basehor-Linwood.

Louisburg responded well in its final match against Spring Hill and the Lady Cats didn’t let that one loss bother them to come back and take third.

“I was proud of the way the girls responded by coming back and beating Spring Hill and finishing the day with a win,” Compliment said. “It just wasn’t the ending they had anticipated or wanted. There was still a lot of good things that happened. I was impressed with our serve receive and how Riley and Reilly (Ratliff-Becher) passed the ball. Also having Sophie back there as well just adds more consistency to our serve receive.”

Kallevig had four aces to lead the Lady Cats behind the service line against Spring Hill and Dixon added three aces and eight kills. McMullen and Quinn finished up with six and five kills, respectively.

Buffington ended the day with 16 assists and Kallevig had a team-high six digs. McMullen and Ratliff-Becher each had four digs.

Louisburg players (clockwise from left) Erin Lemke (14), Carson Buffington, Sophie McMullen, Riley Kallevig and Anna Dixon celebrate a big point Saturday.

“I was proud of Carson and how she ran the offense,” Compliment said. “We changed the offense again this year to the 5-1 and she has done a good job. We have four sophomores out there at times, so we are still kind of young and it all about getting court time for them. Sophie and Anna both had some good runs there on the front row as did Mikayla, so we did some good things.”

Louisburg will try and continue its winning ways tonight when it hosts Blue Valley Southwest. The freshman team opens play at 4:30 p.m., with the junior varsity and varsity to follow.

A photo gallery from Saturday’s tournament can be found here.

Louisburg drum major Chloe Philgreen directs the band during the Fall Community Pep Rally on Thursday at Louisburg High School.

Parents and students at Louisburg High School flooded the LHS gymnasium Thursday for the 20th Annual Community Pep Rally that was sponsored by First National Bank.

They were all provided with a free meal courtesy of First National and Chris Cakes, which was followed by the introduction of all the fall sports and activities. The LHS cheerleaders and Jazzy Cats performed routines, while the Wildcat band also performed musical numbers throughout the evening.

Below is a photo gallery from the event on what was a great way to kick off the school year.