A young Leavenworth volleyball team got its season started on Thursday, going 1-2 at a quadrangular meet with a win over Turner and losses to Blue Valley and Pembroke Hill. Although it wasn’t until the final match of the night that they got into the win column, head coach Gary Anderson said he was happy with the growth his team showed over the course of the evening.
“The Pembroke game was the first time they’d played a game together as a team,” Anderson said. “It’s a young group and I don’t think I had them mentally prepared, but once they got settled down and started playing, they did a lot better. When you’re playing freshmen and sophomores on varsity, nerves will get to them, and the expectations they have for themselves just add to that. We’re a young team, ... but we’re making due and we’re doing fine.”
Against Turner, the Lady Pioneers earned a pair of 25-21 set wins in two very different fashions. In the first, the two teams traded blows through a 15-15 tie before Leavenworth took control with a 17-16 lead and extended to the win. The second set saw Turner jump on top 7-1 before the Pioneers clawed back into contention.
“Turner went up 7-1 and I called a timeout to get them refocused and we fought back and tied it up at 19-19 and finished it from there,” Anderson said. “It was a good game. We were even with them in the first set and pulled it out and in the last set to pull the victory off and see the girls come from behind after a 7-1 deficit was really nice.”
Setter Erika Schiller racked up 24 assists and 7 kills against Turner. Paiton Crockett chipped in five kills, Natalie Gudehus had four and Michelle Tennant contributed two kills to the effort. Crockett had a team-high eight digs, Stephanie Soto added six, Rebecca Reilly five and Natalie Gudehus four.
After coming out sluggish against Pembroke Hill, and falling 25-9 and 25-8, Anderson said his girls played much better against a quality Blue Valley team, despite taking a 25-16 and 25-15 loss.
“We did all right with Blue Valley, they’re a good team,” Anderson said, noting the Tigers’ second-place finish at team camp over the summer. “They’re a pretty salty team, but we were doing fine. It was close, we played them well.”
Crockett and Gudehus had five and four kills, respectively, against Blue Valley and Reilly had a team-high six digs. Soto added five digs while Crockett and Brooke White each had three digs while Schiller finished the Blue Valley match with 10 assists. Crockett, who’s moving from middle to outside hitter this season, led the team with five kills against Pembroke Hill. Schiller had eight assists while libero Reilly had a team-high five digs and Gudehus and Soto each added four digs to the effort in the first matchup of the night.
Blue Valley swept the quad on the night, also earning wins over Pembroke Hill and Turner.
The Lady Pioneers are back in action on Thursday, as they open Sunflower League play with a quad meet at Shawnee Mission East.
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A young Leavenworth volleyball team got its season started on Thursday, going 1-2 at a quadrangular meet with a win over Turner and losses to Blue Valley and Pembroke Hill. Although it wasn’t until the final match of the night that they got into the win column, head coach Gary Anderson said he was happy with the growth his team showed over the course of the evening.
“The Pembroke game was the first time they’d played a game together as a team,” Anderson said. “It’s a young group and I don’t think I had them mentally prepared, but once they got settled down and started playing, they did a lot better. When you’re playing freshmen and sophomores on varsity, nerves will get to them, and the expectations they have for themselves just add to that. We’re a young team, ... but we’re making due and we’re doing fine.”
Against Turner, the Lady Pioneers earned a pair of 25-21 set wins in two very different fashions. In the first, the two teams traded blows through a 15-15 tie before Leavenworth took control with a 17-16 lead and extended to the win. The second set saw Turner jump on top 7-1 before the Pioneers clawed back into contention.
“Turner went up 7-1 and I called a timeout to get them refocused and we fought back and tied it up at 19-19 and finished it from there,” Anderson said. “It was a good game. We were even with them in the first set and pulled it out and in the last set to pull the victory off and see the girls come from behind after a 7-1 deficit was really nice.”
Setter Erika Schiller racked up 24 assists and 7 kills against Turner. Paiton Crockett chipped in five kills, Natalie Gudehus had four and Michelle Tennant contributed two kills to the effort. Crockett had a team-high eight digs, Stephanie Soto added six, Rebecca Reilly five and Natalie Gudehus four.
After coming out sluggish against Pembroke Hill, and falling 25-9 and 25-8, Anderson said his girls played much better against a quality Blue Valley team, despite taking a 25-16 and 25-15 loss.
“We did all right with Blue Valley, they’re a good team,” Anderson said, noting the Tigers’ second-place finish at team camp over the summer. “They’re a pretty salty team, but we were doing fine. It was close, we played them well.”
Crockett and Gudehus had five and four kills, respectively, against Blue Valley and Reilly had a team-high six digs. Soto added five digs while Crockett and Brooke White each had three digs while Schiller finished the Blue Valley match with 10 assists. Crockett, who’s moving from middle to outside hitter this season, led the team with five kills against Pembroke Hill. Schiller had eight assists while libero Reilly had a team-high five digs and Gudehus and Soto each added four digs to the effort in the first matchup of the night.
Blue Valley swept the quad on the night, also earning wins over Pembroke Hill and Turner.
The Lady Pioneers are back in action on Thursday, as they open Sunflower League play with a quad meet at Shawnee Mission East.
