Varsity Tournament - Goessel Kansas  Sept. 10th

 By Coach Joell Matlack

We defeated Burrton in the second match 25-9, 25-8. All of the girls contributed to make this a fun win. As a team we had 15 serving aces. Matlack was 14/14 serving (6 aces). She also had 19 assists. Talbott had near perfect game in serving and serve receive. She also had 8 digs. Maurath was 7/8 in serving, utilizing her jump serve she has been working on. Marcy Thomas played well with 3 kills. Miranda Daniels continues to improve and added 1 kill. VanSteenburg had 10 kills and 5 digs for the match. Littlejohn and Howard both had 4 kills.

In the next match we defeated Canton Galva 25-18, 25-15. In both of these sets, the Lady Dragons went point for point with the Eagles, until the 15 point mark. Morgan Matlack had one of her best matches of the day with 6 kills, 19 assists, and 5 digs. She made some smart decisions to get us past some unforced errors. Victoria Maurath is stepping up on defense, adding 4 digs to the game. Alyssa Talbott was 100% in serving, and her serve receive was impressive. She also had 8 digs. Lauren Wells had 4 digs and was 7/7 serving. Sydney Beat had 11 good serve receives and 4 digs. Shelby Howard is still playing strong and added 4 kills. Aubrie VanSteenburg had 8 serving aces for the match, 11 kills, and 3 blocks. Her play at the net is crucial for our team. Marcy Thomas had 2 kills.

In the semifinal match, we took on the home team, the Goessel Bluebirds. The girls were able to play as a team to defeat the Bluebirds 25-22, 25-17. Talbott continued to serve and receive well for us. She also had 8 digs against their strong hitters. VanSteenburg had 16 kills, 6 ace serves, and 14 digs for the match. As setter, Matlack had 22 assists, 3 kills, and 7 digs. Miranda Daniels stepped up her defense for 3 digs and Wells continued to serve well, going 100% for the match. Sara Littlejohn was impressive with 3 kills on 5 attack attempts. Maurath went 7/8 serving, Howard had 2 kills, and Sydney Beat added 2 digs.

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The Lady Dragons met Central Christian in the finals of the tournament, but were defeated in 2 sets, 22-25, 22-25. It was a tough match for our girls. They didn’t pass or dig well, which is what you have to do against a team with a strong hitter like they have. We didn’t get our offense set up like we needed to put them in defensive positions. Well, Talbott, Maurath, and Beat were 100% from the serving line. Marcy Thomas had 2 kills for the match, and Howard added 4. VanSteenburg had 13 kills, 2 blocks, and 9 digs. Matlack had 18 assists and 6 digs. Overall, I was very pleased with the girls’ efforts throughout the day. It was a disappointing end to the tournament, but I am proud of the way they are playing as a team and working towards a common goal. We will meet Central Christian again next Tuesday in a non-league match.

JV Tournament  Lyons Kansas  Sept. 10th

Brooke Marshall continues to lead the team as the setter.  She is vocal and encourages her teammates to be better. Mattie Warner continues to grow as one of our two middle hitters. She is hitting the ball much better and her blocking continues to improve. Alex Wright is our other middle hitter who continues to improve also.  She is a great vocal leader for our team. Jena Black is an outside hitter for HHS JV who is really connecting with the ball and getting some good hits.  Ryah Ritthaler played on the front row as an outside hitter.  She is still getting used to playing this position, but did a great job over the weekend.  She was  able to find the open spots against the opponents. Jordan White plays front row and back row.  She passed very well over the weekend and that allowed us to get good attacks on the opponent.  Allie King played back row and does a great job of moving her feet and getting passes up to the setter. Hannah Keiser and Anna Tenyerri  also saw some good minutes in the tournament.