Volleyball Teams Open Season With Victories
On Tuesday, August 30, the 2016 season of athletic competition got underway when the high school volleyball team hosted teams from Hoxie and Goodland. The varsity Lady Indians lost to Hoxie in three sets 25-19, 20-25, 14-25, but defeated Goodland in three close sets 24-26, 25-22, 25-23. The junior varsity Lady Indians won both of their matches. The JV beat Hoxie 24-26, 25-12, 15-11 and defeated Goodland in two games 25-14, 25-23.
In varsity action against Hoxie, the Lady Indians played the highly-rated Hoxie girls tough for two games, but did not execute very well in the deciding set. Hoxie earned an early 0-2 lead, but the Lady Indians soon tied the game after a Hoxie hitting error and a kill by Zoe Sundstrom. After a 3-3 tie, St. Francis scored five unanswered points fueled by good serves by Madi Tice and three consecutive Hoxie hitting errors (7-3). The run ended with a missed serve by Tice. Hoxie narrowed the count to 8-5 before an assist by Lauren Johnson set up a kill by Hanna Bracelin off an attempted block. The point triggered another St. Francis run extending the margin to 13-5. In the run, Bracelin earned a tip block and Jessica Confer a kill, but Hoxie's hitting errors continued to take its toll. Another missed serve by the Lady Indians stopped the momentum, and Hoxie then reeled off 7 of the next 8 points. Katie Schmid earned a kill for the only St. Francis point in several minutes. Hoxie closed to within 14-12. A Hoxie attack error, followed by another Schmid kill and a Bracelin ace, gave the Lady Indians a bit more breathing room. Trailing 18-12, Hoxie called time-out to regroup. The Lady Indians stretched the lead to 23-15 after receiving kills by Emileigh Dinkel and Lauren Johnson, and an ace by Tice. Another missed serve by the Lady Indians gave the serve back to Hoxie. Hoxie followed with three consecutive aggressive kills (two by Brynn Niblock) to close to 23-19 before a missed serve and net violation gave the Lady Indians the set one victory.
St. Francis opened game two with a 6-0 run. During the flurry, the Lady Indians earned kills by Emileigh Dinkel and two by Lauren Johnson. Hoxie called time-out and answered with a kill before the Lady Indians scored three more to lead 9-1. A powerful kill by Niblock stopped the St. Francis run. A few passing and hitting errors by the Lady Indians allowed Hoxie to gradually narrow the gap. The visitors pulled within 14-10 before a kill by Lindsey Johnson gave the Lady Indians a badly needed point. Hoxie followed with two more kills before a SF setting error trimmed the margin to two (15-13). The game became tied at 17-all after three more Lady Indian errors. The Hoxie run of six unanswered points eventually gave the visiting Lady Indians a 17-20 advantage. Hoxie won game two 20-25.
St. Francis did not execute as well in game three as they had during the first two sets. Hoxie's directional attack improved greatly. St. Francis gave up two aces early in the contest and fell behind 0-5. The run ended on a Hoxie passing error. Another short run by Hoxie stretched the lead to 1-9 and then to 2-11. St. Francis only earned three kills in game three (one each by Katie Schmid, Lauren Johnson, and Hanna Bracelin) due difficulty handling the aggressive attack for their opponents. The Lady Indians lost game three 14-25.
The St. Francis-Goodland match was a good one! The largest margin attained by either team in all three games was five points. St. Francis led early in game one, but a five-point run by the Lady Cowgirls put St. Francis at a 3-7 disadvantage. Zoe Sundstrom's kill off a Lauren Johnson assist stopped the run. The teams battled mostly evenly for a while until the Lady Indians, behind consistent serving by Jessica Confer, earned four consecutive points to take a 12-9 lead. The lead did not last long, as two passing errors, a setting error, and an attack error soon put Goodland back in front 12-13. After being tied eleven times in game one, the last at 18-18, St. Francis earned a two-point advantage on a Goodland attack error and an ace by Sundstrom. The Lady Indians earned four consecutive points (free-ball error, passing error, hit out, and stuff by Hanna Bracelin) to take a 24-19 lead. The Lady Indians looked to be in great position, but Goodland was not going away easily. The Cowgirls scored 7 unanswered points (three coming on aces) to take a 24-26 first set win.
Game one was just a teaser of what was to come. Goodland jumped out to a 0-3 lead in game two. Katie Schmid's kill trimmed the margin to one point, and a hitting error by the Cowgirls tied game two at 3-all. This game would only be tied 7 times during play. Goodland earned a five-point lead (4-9) with a kill off an attempted block. A back-row kill by Zoe Sundstrom trimmed the deficit to 11-13. The game became tied at 14-all when a Goodland attack hit the net. Goodland earned a 15-17 lead aided by two missed serves by the Lady Indians before Sundstrom's aggressive attack was misplayed by the Cowgirls. Behind some strong serves by Lauren Johnson, the Lady Indians earned three consecutive points to tie the game at 19-19. Sunstrom's ace gave the Lady Indians a 21-20 lead, and Schmid's kill sealed the game win at 25-22.
To say game three was close is an understatement. Game three had ten ties, five lead changes, with the largest lead by either team at two points. After trailing 1-3, consistent serves by Taighe Weeter, a kill by Lauren Johnson, and three consecutive attack errors by the Cowgirls gave the Lady Indians a 5-3 lead. The four-point run was the largest run of the game by either team. Lauren Johnson gave St. Francis an 8-6 lead with her second kill of the game. Kate Schmid's kill tied the game at 12-all, Zoe Sundstrom's tip moved the score to 14-all, and Madi Tice's ace eventually gave St. Francis the lead for good at 17-16. Though the Cowgirls would tie the game three more times, the Lady Indians did not relinquish the lead. A kill by Schmid gave St. Francis a hard-fought 25-23 match win.
St. Francis will play Idalia on Thursday, September 1, in the St. Francis High School Gymnasium. The match begins at 4:30 p.m. The junior varsity girls will play first (best 2 of 3) and the varsity will follow (best 3 of 5).
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