Louisburg seniors Olivia Bradley (left) and Ellie Katzer team up for a block Tuesday during the Lady Cats’ home opener against Baldwin. Louisburg made quick work of Baldwin in the 3-0 win and picked up its first Frontier League victory in the process.

Three weeks into the season and the Louisburg High School volleyball team was finally able to compete on its home floor.

The Lady Cats felt right at home Tuesday when they hosted Baldwin for a Frontier League dual. Louisburg picked up its first league win of the season as it ousted the Bulldogs 25-10, 25-18 and 25-19.

“We were looking forward to this match for a while just because this was our home opener and we like to play here and have an advantage,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “But too the girls were excited to play on the new setup. The girls were excited to play on the new court and new net. Just added a little different element to the game

The setup was quite a bit different for the Lady Cats and their fans. Instead of being sectioned off into one part of the gym, they were able to play on the entire floor with the net coming down at halfcourt and fans were able to watch from the side to see all of the action.

“I really like it,” Compliment said. “It was nice having the fans on both sides of the court instead of just compacted to one side. I think it was great having that student section in the middle and them getting loud during the game always helps us out.”

Senior Tayler Lancaster digs up a ball during Tuesday’s match against Baldwin.

Louisburg’s players seemed to like the setup too as they were quick to put Baldwin in a hole as the Lady Cats went on an 11-1 run to end the first set. Junior Mikayla Quinn served seven points in a row and had two aces during that stretch.

Sophomore Anna Dixon added a pair of blocks and a kill to keep the momentum going and later recorded an ace for the set’s final point.

Midway through the second set, senior Olivia Bradley had a kill and a tip to give Louisburg (14-7, 1-1) a 13-9 lead and the Lady Cats added on from there. Senior Ellie Katzer, Dixon and freshman Haley Cain all had kills to increase Louisburg’s lead.

It appeared the third set was going to go the same way as the others. Louisburg jumped out to a 9-3 advantage, but Baldwin didn’t back down and eventually took a two-point lead after a 9-1 run.

Bradley had back-to-back kills to give the Lady Cats the lead, but Baldwin rallied to take the lead again. With the match tied at 18-all, Dixon recorded a kill and an ace in back-to-back plays and Cain added a kill to help the Lady Cats pull away

“The third set we started pulling back and playing too loose,” Compliment said. “Instead of playing to win, we just played comfortable and didn’t push. Baldwin was playing to win and they were playing scrappy and digging everything up.”

Louisburg was still trying to get used to playing with a new rotation after the injury to starter Sophie McMullen, who played an all-around spot. Katzer moved into McMullen’s spot and the team moved back to a 5-1 offense that features sophomore Carson Buffington as the main setter.

“Ellie has been solid and reliable out there,” Compliment said. “It is going to take some time because they are still kind of second guessing on whose ball it is instead of just going for it and knowing their roles. Hopefully we will catch on soon.”

Dixon had a big outing for the Lady Cats as she finished with team-highs in kills (15), blocks (5) and aces (3). Buffington led the Louisburg offense with 30 assists, while freshman libero Riley Kallevig had five digs. Cain, another freshman, had nine kills in the win and Bradley finished with six.

The Lady Cats will get to play at home once again Saturday when they host the Louisburg Invitational. They will meet Leavenworth, Olathe North and Shawnee Mission West in pool play, which begins at 8 a.m.

Other teams in the tournament are Shawnee Mission East, Olathe South, Fort Scott and Basehor-Linwood.

“The girls are looking forward to it,” Compliment said. “Our home tournament, and I like it, but it is always a tough tournament with the teams we bring in. We always want to defend our home court and the goal is to stay here when they bracket out for the championship instead of going over to the middle school. We are going to have to start strong at 8 a.m. and continue that throughout the day.”

Louisburg sophomore Anna Dixon tips the ball past two De Soto blockers on Sept. 13 at De Soto High School. On Thursday, the Lady Cats went 3-0 in a triangular in Osawatomie.

OSAWATOMIE – Coming off a tough Frontier League loss can be difficult enough to overcome by itself, but the Louisburg High School volleyball had to rebound without one of their leaders.

Following a loss to De Soto earlier in the week, the Lady Cats ventured to Osawatomie for a quadrangular with Fort Scott and Prairie View and they had to do it without junior Sophie McMullen, who was out with an injury. In her absence, the rest of the Louisburg team banded together to leave with three victories.

Louisburg didn’t lose a set as they defeated all three teams 2-0 and improved its record to 13-7 on the season.

Without McMullen, the Lady Cats leaned on several players in her absence and they came through. Senior Ellie Katzer took McMullen’s spot in the rotation and played all-around, while sophomore Anna Dixon was looked to do more offensively.

Senior Tayler Lancaster also filled in for Katzer’s spot in the back row and gave Louisburg some quality time on the floor.

“Sophie took about 75 percent of the swings when she was front row and without her the other players needed to step up,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “I thought that those players did a good job of taking on more responsibility. Ellie did a great job stepping in and playing all the way around for us. She made some very smart plays and kept the ball in play.

“We still have some growing to do as a team and as individuals, but I thought that by the end of the night that the team was playing well together. Our schedule slows down a little next week so we’ll have more time to focus on the new rotation and adjusting to playing without Sophie.”

Louisburg opened play against Prairie View, and despite a few bumps early, the Lady Cats rolled to a 25-20 and 25-16 win. Dixon led the offensive attack with 13 kills to lead Louisburg and Katzer finished with five.

Katzer and junior Mikayla Quinn were strong from behind the service line with four aces each. Senior Olivia Bradley led Louisburg’s defense with a team-high 10 blocks, while freshman libero Riley Kallevig had seven digs.

Sophomore Carson Buffington, who is now the team’s lone setter in McMullen’s absence, had a big game with 19 assists.

“Our first match against Prairie View was a little rough,” Compliment said. “It took us awhile to get comfortable in the new rotation. We finally settled down a little during the Osawatomie and Fort Scott matches, and we started to find some rhythm with the changes.”

Next up was Osawatomie and it was much of the same for Louisburg as it breezed to a 25-15 and 25-10 victory behind nine kills and five blocks from Dixon and five kills from Katzer. Kallevig served well for the Lady Cats as she had seven aces and Buffington had a team-high 18 assists.

Dixon again led the Lady Cats offensively against Fort Scott with 12 kills and had six blocks to help Louisburg to a 25-18 and 25-15 win over Fort Scott.

Freshman Haley Cain and Buffington each had four kills in the win, while Quinn and Kallevig had six of the team’s 10 aces with three each. Buffington also had 17 assists.

Louisburg will try and keep its winning ways going today when it hosts Baldwin in a league matchup. Varsity is set to begin at approximately 6:30 p.m.

Lady Cats suffer league loss at De Soto

Going into the season, De Soto and Louisburg were considered as the Frontier League’s top two teams, but De Soto took the first victory of the season between the two in the league’s preseason tournament in August.

On Sept. 13, the two teams met again and was a vital match on who would take a firm hold on first place in the Frontier League. Although Louisburg got off to a good start in the first set and took an early lead, the Lady Cats couldn’t hang on in a 26-24, 25-16 and 25-21 loss.

Louisburg’s Olivia Bradley (left) and Sophie McMullen team up for a block on Sept. 13 at De Soto.

“We knew going in to the match against De Soto that it would be tough,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “They played us tough last year and returned almost their entire team. We managed to get a good lead in the first set. Had we won that set I think the outcome may have been different. After losing the first set, we lost some confidence and started playing tight. We had our chances in the third set, but couldn’t convert when we needed to and couldn’t pull out a win.”

Sophomore Anna Dixon had a big day at the net with a team-high 14 kills. Sophomore Carson Buffington recorded 16 assists running the Lady Cat offense.

Dixon tied senior Olivia Bradley with a team-high five blocks. Bradley also had three aces, while freshman libero Riley Kallevig had two. Dixon also played well defensively with 10 digs and senior Ellie Katzer added seven.

For a photo gallery from the match, make sure to click here.

Louisburg finishes fifth at Lansing

Louisburg watched as just a few points separated it from being in the championship or consolation bracket on Sept. 10 at the Lansing Invitational.

During pool play, the Lady Cats found themselves in a pair of close matches with Shawnee Mission West and Lansing, but in the end Louisburg up short and finished with a 2-2 record in the pool.

Louisburg moved to the consolation bracket, but the Lady Cats didn’t let the disappointment earlier in the day get them down as they responded with a pair of straight set victories over Piper and Topeka Seaman to finish fifth overall.

“The Lansing tournament is always a tough tournament,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “We had a few close matches with Shawnee Mission West and Lansing but couldn’t pull out the win. Hopefully those close matches will provide the team with some confidence going in to the rest of the season. We see a lot of quality 5A and 6A teams throughout the season. Hopefully the team takes away some positives from the losses and that will help us later in the season.”

The Lady Cats opened the tournament with a 25-12 and 25-18 victory over Spring Hill behind 15 kills from sophomore Anna Dixon. Junior Sophie McMullen and Dixon also added a pair of aces each.

Next up was Shawnee Mission West and after a tough 25-19 loss in the first set, the Lady Cats took West to the limit before falling 30-28. Dixon had a team-high 12 kills and McMullen added eight. McMullen also finished with three aces.

Senior Olivia Bradley had a team-high nine blocks, while sophomore Carson Buffington and freshman Haley Cain had six and five, respectively.

Louisburg downed Shawnee Mission North 25-15 and 25-15 to get back on track. Buffington had five aces in the win and also got six digs each from freshman libero Riley Kallevig and senior Tayler Lancaster. Dixon and McMullen had eight and six kills, respectively.

The host team Lansing dashed any hopes of Louisburg earning a spot in the championship bracket with as it defeated the Lady Cats 25-18 and 28-26. The Lady Cats held a 16-10 lead in the second set before Lansing rallied

Dixon had a team-high 13 kills in the loss and Bradley had seven blocks. Buffington had 16 assists and also had a team-high 12 digs.

Louisburg didn’t have any problem against Piper as it rolled to a 25-13 and 25-22 to start the consolation bracket. Dixon had eight kills and three aces in the win, while McMullen had seven kills. Freshman Haley Cain had a big game defensively with nine blocks.

In the fifth-place match, Louisburg dispatched Topeka Seaman 25-14 and 25-23 to end the day on a positive note. Dixon and McMullen had 11 and 10 kills, respectively.

Kallevig had a team-high 12 digs and McMullen finished with nine. McMullen also had a team-high four blocks.

For a photo gallery from the tournament, make sure to click here.

The Louisburg High School volleyball team celebrates a point during a match earlier this season. The Lady Cats defeated Santa Fe Trail and Burlington in two sets Tuesday in Carbondale.

CARBONDALE – The Louisburg High School volleyball team has been a victim of its own schedule as of late as it has had to compete against larger schools, and being in the rebuild process, the Lady Cats haven’t been able to get over the hump against those programs yet.

Louisburg’s schedule evened out a bit Tuesday when the Lady Cats traveled to Santa Fe Trail for a triangular with Burlington and they left with a positive result.

The Lady Cats defeated Santa Fe Trail 25-23 and 25-23 and then downed Burlington 25-16 and 25-20 to stop a two-game losing streak going into the triangular.

“I thought we played OK,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “We lost our focus a few times during both matches and made too many errors on our side of the net. We need to work on maintaining our focus and minimizing our errors if we want to continue seeing success.

“There were moments during both matches were I saw a glimpse in to the potential this team has. We just need to find our game and stick to it for an entire match and not get caught in the ups and downs of a volleyball match.”

Louisburg (6-3) opened up with Santa Fe Trail and got a good performance at the net from sophomore Anna Dixon as she finished with nine kills in the two sets and also had a team-high five blocks along with senior Olivia Bradley. Dixon also led Louisburg with four aces.

Junior Sophie McMullen led with way with 12 assists to go along with five kills and four blocks. McMullen also played well defensively with 15 digs, while freshman libero Riley Kallevig had a team-high 16 digs. Sophomore Carson Buffington, who splits setting duties with McMullen, had eight assists.

The Lady Cats had a little easier time against Burlington to complete their perfect night.

Dixon was busy up front as she had 11 kills and McMullen ended up with eight. McMullen was also strong from behind the service line with five aces and Bradley added three.

Buffington ran the offense well with 17 assists and Kallevig had 12 digs on defense. McMullen and Dixon had eight and seven digs, respectively. Seniors Tayler Lancaster and Ellie Katzer also had big digs in both matches.

Louisburg will make a couple different trips to Lansing this week, starting at 5 p.m tonight for a dual. Then on Saturday, the Lady Cats will compete in the Lansing Invitational. The tournament is set to begin at 9 a.m.

Louisburg falls to Blue Valley Southwest, Olathe South

The Louisburg High School volleyball team opened its dual schedule on Aug. 30 when it traveled to Blue Valley Southwest and then again at Olathe South on Sept. 1.

Louisburg got a big test against the two bigger schools and came up just short. The Lady Cats fell to Blue Valley Southwest in a best-of-3 match, 25-19 and 25-17, and lost to Olathe South in a best-of-5, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20 and 25-17.

“Olathe South and Blue Valley Southwest are both good teams,” Louisburg coach Jessica Compliment said. “We played them tough but fell short during both of those matches. Both teams ran faster offenses than what we had seen so far this season so our front row struggled to put up consistent blocks. It was good to see what we needed to work on, and I was proud of how they played those two evenings. They hustled and went after every ball and didn’t give up.”

Against Southwest, junior Sophie McMullen had a big day at the net with a team-high 10 kills and sophomore Anna Dixon finished with seven. Dixon and senior Olivia Bradley led Louisburg with seven blocks each.

Setter Carson Buffington and McMullen had 12 and eight assists, respectively. McMullen also had a team-high 13 digs, Dixon had 11 and senior Ellie Katzer finished with 10.

In the Lady Cats’ match with Olathe South, McMullen had another big night with 17 kills in the four sets and Dixon was right behind her with 15. McMullen also led Louisburg with nine blocks and freshman Haley Cain added six.

Freshman libero Riley Kallevig led Louisburg with 14 digs, while Dixon recorded 13 and McMullen had 10. Buffington led the offense with 23 assists.

Sophomore Carson Buffington (left) sets up teammate Olivia Bradley for a kill during the Frontier League Tournament on Saturday at Baldwin High School. The Lady Cats finished second overall and went 4-1 on the day.

BALDWIN CITY – It may have ended one win short of its actual goal, but for the Louisburg High School volleyball team, the Frontier League Tournament provided the Lady Cats a lot of what they needed to see.

Head coach Jessica Compliment watched her team battle back from adversity, dominate matches and saw an inexperienced team grow together. The Lady Cats had just one loss on the day as they finished second Saturday in the 8-team tournament at Baldwin High School, and even that provided a good learning tool.

Louisburg finished undefeated in pool play as it beat Basehor-Linwood (25-21, 18-25, 26-24), Spring Hill (25-10, 25-17) and Eudora (25-15, 25-13). The Lady Cats rallied to defeat Paola in the semifinals (25-22, 22-25, 25-15) before falling to De Soto in two sets (25-23, 25-13).

“I thought the team played well on Saturday,” Compliment said. “We had our moments when we were playing really well, and then moments when you could tell it was the first time out and our nerves showed. Overall I was pleased with how the players competed and fought throughout the day.

“We had to fight back twice to beat Basehor-Linwood and Paola. Seeing the team’s determination to bounce back and fight for the win is a positive take from the tournament. De Soto is a good team and we knew they were going to be tough to beat.”

The Lady Cats (4-1) faced adversity in the first match of the day as they had to play a deciding third set against Basehor-Linwood and squeaked out a win over the Bobcats with a 26-24 victory in a back-and-forth final set.

Junior Mikayla Quinn (left) and freshman Haley Cain go up for a block during the Lady Cats’ semifinal match against Paola.

Veterans Anna Dixon and Sophie McMullen carried Louisburg through the match as Dixon, a sophomore, finished with a team-high 13 kills and nine blocks. McMullen, a junior, had a strong serving match with six aces and eight kills.

Freshman libero Riley Kallevig also provided some good defense with a team-high 15 digs and also had three aces. Sophomore Carson Buffington had 14 assists and McMullen added nine.

Louisburg really picked up its game the rest of the day, especially from behind the service line.

In the win over Spring Hill, Dixon served 13 straight points in the first set and finished with 11 aces for the match. Then in the victory against Paola, senior Olivia Bradley and junior Mikayla Quinn provided a big boost as well.

Bradley had five aces as she reeled off several points in a row to help Louisburg rally from behind and win the first set, while Quinn finished with a team-high seven aces against the Panthers that helped spur the three-set win.

“Anna, Olivia and Mikayla all stepped up big with their serves throughout the day as well and helped sway the momentum in our direction,” Compliment said. “The team’s ability to fight back and win against Paola showed me that they are willing to work hard and can mentally recharge themselves during a match. We have a few with a lot of experience, and I think that helped team on Saturday.”

Against De Soto, Louisburg stayed within one or two points for much of the championship match before losing the first set. However, De Soto went on a big run midway through the second set and the Lady Cats weren’t able to recover.

“I knew going in to the season that De Soto would have a good team this year,” Compliment said. “They returned a large portion of their team from last season. During the last set, we started to slowly fall apart because we started trying too hard to make the right play rather than sticking to what works for us as a team. It was a learning experience and we can take away a lot from that loss.”

Saturday was also the first time the Lady Cats used their new 6-2 offense in game action and it seemed to work well at times.

Dixon and McMullen did a lot of work at the net. Dixon led the Lady Cats with 46 kills on the day and McMullen was right behind her with 43.

The Louisburg duo also had team-highs in aces with 13 and 12, respectively. Quinn was in double figures in aces with 11 and Bradley added eight.

The difference for Louisburg was its setting combination as McMullen and Buffington shared duties throughout the day. Buffington led the team with 72 assists and McMullen finished with 48.

“Overall I think the new offense went okay,” Compliment said. “We have a few kinks to work out and it needs some work to help smooth a few things out. Having two setters means the players all need to communicate a lot more so we’ll need to focus on continuing to increase communication on the court before, during and after rallies.”

The Lady Cats also played well defensively and it was led by one of the younger players on the team. Kallevig, a freshman libero, led Louisburg with 47 digs out of the back row and handled 65 serves out of the 12 sets played by the team.

Seniors Ellie Katzer and Tayler Lancaster, along with McMullen, Buffington and Dixon, provided the Lady Cats strong defense in the back row and up front. Dixon also had a team-high 27 blocks at the net, and another freshman, Haley Cain, was next on the team with 17.

“Riley did a great job of controlling the back row and was very steady throughout the day,” Compliment said. “That can be tough for a freshman, but she did a great job. Ellie and Tayler also added some great defensive plays during the tournament.”

Louisburg returns to action tonight when it travels to Blue Valley Southwest and then will play at 6 p.m. Thursday at Olathe South.

For a photo gallery of Saturday’s action, make sure to click here.

Junior Sophie McMullen (left) sets up teammate Olivia Bradley during the state tournament last season. McMullen, Bradley and Anna Dixon are the three returning varsity players that return from last year’s third-place team at state.

Five out of the last six years, the Louisburg High School volleyball team has seen its season come to a close at the Class 4A-Division I Tournament in Salina.

Not a bad place for it to end.

However, this season the Lady Cats will have a different look to as they graduated five varsity players off last season’s team that finished third at state. It is not exactly a recipe to return to a state tournament, but three players are looking to lead the way to make sure they make another trip to Salina.

Senior Olivia Bradley (middle blocker), junior Sophie McMullen (setter) and sophomore Anna Dixon (outside hitter) return with varsity experience as head coach Jessica Compliment tries to mold the team around them – a team that has won three Frontier League titles in a row.

“We did lose a large chunk of our team from last year, so we have a lot of rebuilding to do,” Compliment said. “Not only did we lose five starters, but three of those players started for the past three years so we also lost a lot of experience. Sophie is returning with the most varsity experience having two years of varsity under her belt.

Sophomore Anna Dixon returns as one of the Lady Cats’ top hitters after earning all-league honors last season.

“She, along with Anna and Olivia, will need to step up this year and use their varsity experience to help lead the team. We have a young group of players who are thirsty to learn and ready for the challenge.”

The Lady Cats, who finished with a 31-12 record a year ago, will not only have a different look roster-wise, but will have a different offense as well.

Louisburg plans to run a 6-2 offense, which would split the setting duties between McMullen and sophomore Carson Buffington and allow McMullen to hit some on the front row. McMullen, who was an honorable mention all-league setter in 2015, has started in that spot the last two seasons.

“I think it gives us the best chance to be competitive in all six rotations,” Compliment said.” I stress to the players at a young age to not settle in to just one position early because a versatile player can be very vital to a team. We have a few players that can play multiple positions and play them well. Sophie is one of those athletes. Sophie has a lot of experience at both setting and hitting. I’m excited to see what she brings to the team and season this year.”

Whether it is Buffington or McMullen, both setters will look to get Dixon involved in the offense. Dixon earned second-team all-Frontier League honors as a freshman and was second on the team last season with more than 300 kills and also had 59 aces.

Dixon will be joined by junior Mikayla Quinn, who will hit on the right side, and Bradley in the middle.

“I’ve seen a growth of maturity from Anna so far this season, and I expect her to have another good year,” Compliment said. “She’ll need to use some of her experience to help lead the team as well.”

Bradley will join Ellie Katzer and Tayler Lancaster – a transfer from Drexel, Mo. – as the lone seniors this season and both Katzer and Lancaster look to see time on the back row.

The Lady Cats will also feature a few new players, although the names might not be all that new. Freshmen Haley Cain and Riley Kallevig will also play big parts in Louisburg’s rotation.

Kallevig will serve as the team’s libero and will take over the same spot as her sister Makenzie, who was a senior last season. Cain also earned a spot as the team’s middle hitter.

Compliment hopes the two freshmen and Quinn can help fill some holes left by last season’s graduating class.

“We’ll look to Mikayla to be a strong front row player both offensively and defensively,” Compliment said. “Haley and Riley are two freshmen who are also starting this year. They both put in a lot of work over the summer and earned their way to a starting position during tryouts.”

Louisburg won’t have to wait too long to get going as it opens its season Saturday when the Lady Cats travel to Baldwin for the Preseason Frontier League Tournament. Pool play is set to begin at 8 a.m.

“We are a mix of a young and veteran team this season so there may be some growing pains along the way,” Compliment said. “We’ll take each match each week and learn and grow from each experience. Hopefully by the end of the season we will be playing at the top of the game and competing to finish out another league title and a chance to compete at state. Half of the team made the trip to state last year, so they do understand the work that goes behind reaching that goal.

“Each year the players understand that the stakes get higher and that they need to continue to work to get better. We cannot become complacent and just expect wins to happen. We have to work harder than the other teams.”

After making the playoffs a season ago, the Louisburg High School football watched its number rise by a small number as they try to improve off of its 7-3 season in 2015. The Wildcats hold a scrimmage at 8 a.m., on Saturday.

A week into the fall sports season, all of the Louisburg High School sports teams have seen their participation numbers rise from last year – albeit by a small number.

It would make sense as all four programs made strides in the 2015-16 campaign. The football team returned to the playoffs after a 3-win season the year before and volleyball placed third at the state tournament.

Boys soccer won its first regional title in five years despite a rough beginning. Meanwhile, cross country qualified a runner for the state meet for the first time in several years and the girls team made program history when it won its first ever meet.

Needless to say, last year’s results have left several excited for what is to come in all sports.

Sophie McMullen is one of three returning varsity players from last season’s third place finish at state for the LHS volleyball team.

Louisburg’s football team won seven games last season, which was four more than the year before despite a first-round exit in the playoffs. The Wildcats saw their numbers rise from 58 to 63 this season and are ready to make an improvement on the field as well.

They are going through 2-a-days now and will finish a grueling week with an 8 a.m. scrimmage Saturday.

“The first couple days have gone real well, however we are a little limited in what we can do and expect without full pads,” football coach Kyle Littrell said. “We have a great group of kids who have committed themselves to our grueling summer program and the seniors have really taken the leadership role and ran with it.”

Volleyball spent the first three days of practice going through tryouts, but head coach Jessica Compliment saw numbers rise from 28 to 36 this season, which means a few more cuts than last year, but Louisburg has to replace five varsity players from a year ago.

The Lady Cats might have the shortest amount of time to get ready of all the sports as they open their season with the preseason Frontier League tournament on Aug. 27 in Baldwin.

“The first few days of practice have centered around testing and conditioning,” Compliment said. “We started practice with the team on Thursday. I know the players are ready to get the season going, which is good because we have a quick turnaround with a tournament in a week.”

Louisburg’s (from left) Jon Paul Totta, Kyle Allen and Jacob Arnett take part in a drill during a soccer practice Wednesday.

First-year boys soccer coach Kyle Conley inherits a Wildcat program that won the regional tournament and advanced to the state quarterfinals. The numbers for the Wildcats program were up by just two from last year, but Conley has liked what he has seen out of his group thus far.

“The kids are focused and determined,” Conley said. “I am very pleased with their attitudes and work ethic. They seem eager to learn from each session. I love how the kids are believing in the program and my philosophy.

“It is really good to finally get started and get things going. I am excited to see what this team will become. I do understand that our league is incredibly talented, but our mind set it going to be we have something to prove.”

As for cross country, head coach John Reece has seen a large number return for the season, especially on the girls. The Wildcats have 36 runners out this season – with 24 of those competing on the girls team. Louisburg had 31 total runners out a year ago.

Louisburg cross country runners Kaitlyn Gaza (left) and Lilly Mick finish up a practice run Wednesday.

Junior Wyatt Reece returns to help the boys after qualifying for the state meet as a sophomore.

“Practices have started great, especially since it is not 110 degrees in the shade,” coach Reece said. “Those who ran through the summer are ahead of the game. We hope to do some great things this year with almost all of my varsity girls returning.”

Look for full previews on each team next week at Louisburg Sports Zone.

Cate Stambaugh, a 2016 Louisburg High School graduate, recently got a chance to tryout for the Johnson County Community College volleyball team and made the most of it as she garnered a spot on the Cavalier team. 

Cate Stambaugh thought her volleyball career was over the day she injured her ankle in a practice last October.

Stambaugh had to sit the bench as she watched the Louisburg High School volleyball team earn its fourth straight bid to the state tournament and later a third-place finish. It was after that the 2016 LHS graduate starting making plans for college without volleyball and attend Kansas State.

Needless to say Stambaugh was thrilled those plans went awry.

Instead, she was given an opportunity to try out on the Johnson County Community College volleyball team and hasn’t left the Cavalier team since. Stambaugh earned a spot on the JCCC team and is now embarking on a second chance at the sport she loves.

“After volleyball ended (last October) I knew I missed it, so when my roommate decided she would not be attending Kansas State I saw it as a sign so I contacted the head coach, Jennifer Ei,” Stambaugh said. “I got a tryout the next day and I’ve been practicing ever since.

“I’m so happy to be playing college volleyball. I never saw this as one of my goals but then when my career ended I knew I wasn’t ready for it to be done.”

Stambaugh played a vital role for Louisburg before her injury in her senior season. She finished with 168 kills to go along with 217 blocks and 70 solo blocks as the team’s middle hitter.

Now, Stambaugh is trying to get back into volleyball form after being away from the sport for so long and she is happy with her progress so far at Johnson County.

“We started 2-a-days two weeks ago and this will be our last week,” Stambaugh said. “They consist of weights, agility and skill work with team lunches between practices. They are tough but I have already seen so much improvement in myself and my teammates. The team bonding is a lot of fun as well.

“I am just determined to get back to my 100 percent potential and get back into volleyball shape.”

She joins a very successful JCCC program that has a rich volleyball history and the Cavaliers showed that in 2015. Last year, the Cavaliers finished fifth at the national junior college tournament and took first in the East Jayhawk Conference with a 9-0 record.

The Cavaliers were 35-7 on the season and have made 14 national tournament appearances since 1975, including 10 since 2003.

Stambaugh has shifted from her normal middle hitter position and is currently hitting from the right side at practice, but she is happy to help out wherever she can.

“I am open to the right or middle,” Stambaugh said. “I love them both. I just hope to have a strong two years of my career and maintain my school work and volleyball.”

Louisburg sophomore Anna Dixon works on her serve-receive during a drill in the final day of the Lady Cats’ team camp July 13 at Louisburg High School. The Lady Cats also took part in the University of Kansas volleyball team camp the next day.

Success had not eluded the Louisburg High School volleyball program and with that has come high expectations every season.

The Lady Cats have qualified for the state tournament the last four seasons and have won the Frontier League three years in a row. Louisburg has placed at state each of those four trips and the Lady Cats have written another impressive chapter in the program’s history.

However, after last year’s third-place finish at state, the Lady Cats had to say farewell to five seniors and are now forced to regroup as they return just three varsity players from a year ago. Louisburg started that rebuilding in early June when they began summer workouts and recently ended it when they had its team camp that ended on July 13.

Head coach Jessica Compliment had 39 girls out for the three-day team camp as she began sorting out where they different pieces were going to fit.

Louisburg head coach Jessica Compliment talks to her players during the final day of the Lady Cat team camp July 13.

“It thought our camp went pretty well,” Compliment said. “We went over a few things during that time and really stressed our back row defense and passing, which is what we do every year. It also gave the girls chance to learn how to play together, especially since we have so many younger kids this year after losing a big senior class.”

Following their camp, several Lady Cats made the trip to the University of Kansas volleyball team camp for the first time to learn from players and coaches from the Jayhawk program that made it to the semifinals of the NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament.

Louisburg sent 21 players to the 3-day Jayhawk team camp that ended on July 16. The Lady Cats learned from Big 12 Coach of the Year Ray Bechard and also had the opportunity scrimmage against other programs from around the area.

“I really think the girls had a good time at the KU camp,” Compliment said. “I had a couple tell me that they wanted to come by next year, so I think this was a good opportunity for our team. We had about eight hours of practice drills and eight hours of competition. This gave us a chance to play teams that we usually won’t see and it was a good experience.”

Earlier in the summer, all three levels – freshmen, junior varsity and varsity – competed in summer leagues in the area and each program played a level up. The freshmen group played in a junior varsity league, while the junior varsity played against other varsity level programs. The varsity competed against several larger teams in a league in Blue Valley.

“We definitely took our lumps at times,” Compliment said. “It gave us some time to figure out some things with our rotation and we went through some adversity. At the same time, I think we saw a lot of growth out of the girls, which will help this season.”

Those league also gave chances for returning players like Olivia Bradley, Sophie McMullen and Anna Dixon to assert themselves as leaders of the team.

Bradley, a senior, returns as the team’s middle hitter, while Dixon will join her on the outside as a sophomore. McMullen, a junior, comes back for her third season as the team’s setter.  

Ryann Kramer sends the ball over the net during a hitting drill

“For us to be successful those three girls need to become leaders for us, especially for the younger players,” Compliment said. “As the setter I think it is important Sophie to be the leader on the floor and she has a lot of experience out there now. Anna and Olivia played big roles on our team last year so they need to do that as well. I think the summer has helped them in that regard.”

Louisburg High School graduate Madison Turner stands in the huddle with her Blue team during a timeout in the Kansas Volleyball Association All-Star match on June 4 at Washburn University in Topeka. Turner was forced to sit out of the match with an injury.

When she was selected to participate in the Kansas Volleyball Association All-Star match, Madison Turner had every intention of playing against some of the best seniors Kansas had to offer.

The Louisburg High School graduate was looking forward to taking the floor for the June 4 match at Washburn University in Topeka. However, a knee injury derailed that plan as Turner, who was supposed to play for the Blue team, had to sit from the bench and watch.

Turner’s Blue team lost a close five set match to the Red team, 25-13, 19-25, 25-19, 22-25 and 16-14. Although Turner didn’t get a chance to showcase her talents with the rest of the state’s best, she still had a good time.

Madison Turner enjoyed her weekend at the KVA All-Star match in Topeka.

“It was a great experience and a fun weekend,” Turner said. “I was really bummed that I wasn’t able to play. I was coming off an injury that I had been dealing with since nationals for club volleyball in April. I was planning on playing in the match, but a week before I realized that I would not be able to because of my injury. I feel that I worked hard to get the honor to be on the team and to not be able to play was hard.”

She had to do a lot of leg work to earn a spot on the team. Louisburg High School head coach Jessica Compliment nominated Turner for the team, and once she was selected, Turner had to secure $300 worth of sponsors for expenses for the weekend-long event.

The event featured a lunch and dinner for the players and parents and it helped take Turner’s mind off not playing.

“I spent several days going around to individual businesses in Louisburg asking them for donations to sponsor the event,” Turner said. “Most of the places I went to were very willing to donate. When we got there we each received a shirt and spandex to play the match in and it was just a great time. They really made each of us feel very special.

“Some of the girls that were on the team I have played against in club or high school volleyball. There were some girls that I had not met before and I am friends with now. Everyone was really nice and it was a great weekend.”

Turner, who played the middle hitter spot for Louisburg last season and stands at 6-foot, 4-inches, had a big season for the Lady Cat program. She garnered a first team all-Frontier League selection as she helped Louisburg to its third straight undefeated league crown and a third-place finish at the state tournament.

She was also on three state tournament teams during her career, including a second-place finish as a sophomore. This past season, Turner led the Lady Cats with 327 kills and also had a team-high 266 blocks to go along with 37 aces.

Now Turner’s focus will turn to staying healthy and getting ready for her next volleyball experience. Turner signed to play with Arkansas State University, a Division I program out of Jonesboro, Ark.

She has to report to the Red Wolves program in two weeks and she is looking forward to playing college volleyball.

“I am super excited to head down to Arkansas State,” Turner said. “I have to report on July 5 because I have to take two summer classes so I can be on campus and practice with the team. My parents and I are heading down a couple days before so I can get moved into my dorm. There are three volleyball camps in July that I will working as well, which will be fun.”

Last October, Paola activities director Jeff Hines went to a Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) regional meeting to get updates on classification issues.

Six months later, Hines found himself in Topeka, in front of the Kansas Senate Education Committee to talk about a bill that could change the way schools are classified.

On Thursday, Hines sat in front of the committee to discuss Senate Bill 464 – a bill that he proposed with guidance of Sen. Caryn Tyson.

Statute 72-130 establishes specific guidelines pertaining to the organizational structure and functions of KSHSAA. Senate Bill 464 would change one part of the statute and strike the line which allows schools to be classified only by student enrollment.

“The total number of students in schools is a great starting point for classifying them,” Hines said.  “It makes sense that the largest schools should play the largest schools and the smallest schools should play the smallest schools, but there are other things that need to be considered.”

For several months, KSHSAA has had a classification committee discuss different ways to have a competitive balance with its member schools. They came up with ideas of reducing the number of classifications or changing the number of schools in a division.

“There were no other factors being considered and that bothered me,” Hines said, “All that would do was reshuffle the schools just a little bit but we would have the same problem.”

The problem for the committee was its hands were tied thanks to the wording in Statute 72-130 that specifically states schools can only be classified by enrollment numbers and nothing else.

So Hines went to work and helped create Senate Bill 464, which does not give a specific solution to the problem, but rather would take wording out of the statute to allow KSHSAA to figure out how to classify schools on its own.

Hines gave a 15 minute testimony in front of the committee and then answered questions from the committee members for more than 30 minutes afterward. Before the hearing, Hines received support from every member in the Frontier League, Pioneer League and all but two schools in the Kaw Valley League, as those two didn’t respond before the hearing.

Following Hines’ testimony, Sen. Vicki Schmidt, R-Topeka, had concerns as to why KSHSAA did not come in front of the committee itself to ask for changes.

Hines informed the committee that it would be redundant for KSHSAA to endorse the plan, because if approved, member schools would still have to vote on it. He believes Bill 464 would let KSHSAA come up with a system and let schools improve it, instead of the legislature.

“KSHSAA wants to be neutral because this proposal would affect different schools in different ways,” Hines said. “It could be very beneficial to some schools and others may not like it because they might have to move up a class. So, why should KSHSAA have to pick sides in it and pit member against member? It doesn’t have to be that way in my opinion.

“Yes, a school that has to move up a classification might not like it, but is it the best thing overall for the association? They can’t look themselves in the mirror and say ‘No, this isn’t the right thing to do?’

A major problem for some member schools in KSHSAA is they do not believe it is competitively equal the way it is currently structured.

“I am not a believer in participation medals,” Hines said. “If they are kindergartners, sure, but when you start playing, part of being successful later in life is learning how to compete. We all competed for a job when you have gone in for an interview and that is good. You need to have that skillset and I am not saying that we need to give more trophies out and give everyone a shot, but I just want a system in place that is equitable for all so that some don’t have an unfair advantage at the expense of the rest and I think that is what is happening.”

One of the problems is the lack of balance between championships won between public and private high schools. Hines did research and presented numbers at the hearing at the number of state championships won between private and public schools from 2004 to 2014.

Here is what he found.

• Private schools make up slightly less than 8 percent of the KSHSAA membership.
• Private schools have won slightly less than 32 percent of the state championships.
• Based on membership percentage, private schools should only win approximately 8 percent of the titles, not nearly 32 percent.
• Private schools are winning four times more state titles than should be expected based on their memberships.
• Private schools are nine times more likely to win five or more state titles than their public school peers.

“In that period of time, I looked for who has won five or more state titles,” Hines said. “That is a difficult feat. You look at Paola’s history and we have won like seven and Louisburg has won three in 100-plus years. During those 10 years, 37 percent of those private schools won five or more during that time and public schools had 4 percent win five or more. Private schools are nine times more likely to become a dynasty or a successful program with strong tradition. You tell me how we are all the same?”

Another problem they are facing is schools with a high percentage of low socioeconomic status (SCS) students, cannot compete against fellow schools in their own classification in many activities, including football.

“There is a whole bunch of schools in the Kansas City, Kansas school district that are 6A or 5A that have no business competing against those really hard schools,” Hines said. “They don’t have resources, they don’t have the students, there is no interest and they have all those things working against them and I feel bad for those kids. Who wants to trot out against some of those bigger schools and know you are going to get your ears boxed in? That is not fun. Moreover, it is not challenging for the kids those schools are playing against.”

Hines believes competition is important when it comes to the growth of the student athlete and it is beneficial for the school and its community.

“Not only what it does for grades, but for what it does for the human spirit,” Hines said.
“When I was the FFA advisor in Paola, we won 10 state championships in nine years and you could tell the interest by the students and the community went through the roof. You can say the same thing about Louisburg and what Jim Morgan does with his FFA kids. People flock to success.

“Naturally, when they are there they feel better about themselves, they want to work harder in the classroom to stay eligible and kids that want to stay involved are going to be more successful in life. It is all about having the chance to be successful.”

During Hines’ testimony in front of the Senate Education Committee, not all of the legislatures seemed open to the idea. Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg, asked Hines if he would be willing to relinquish state funding if the legislature agrees to release oversight of how KSHSAA classifies schools.

“If we relinquished the funding behind it, (high school activities) would disappear,” Hines said at the hearing.

No action was taken following the hearing, but the committee chairman spent 15 minutes with him and Tyson to help them strategize on what to do next.

One option is to amend the bill to include more specifics that could include a multiplier or a separate division for private schools and a low SCS school de-multiplier.

Another option, Hines said, would be to have the classification committee draft a letter to the Senate Education Committee that states they would like to study these other factors as part of a proposal for revamping the classification system, but not until they feel the legislature is open to changing the law.

Whatever decision comes next, however, Hines wants it to be decided by multiple people within KSHSAA on how to proceed.

“I don’t feel comfortable making that change because I feel a committee needs to do the work,” Hines said. “I shouldn’t be doing it, nor should 11 legislators, you need more. We should let the classification committee work on it and hopefully we can get some things accomplished.

“The only way to allow this to happen is to remove the barrier in place that exists due to the state statute.”