Lady Indians Place 2nd in Gove County Classic
The Lady Indians played very well in the Gove County Classic Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, September 8, in Grainfield. The Lady Indians went 4-1 on the day placing second in the very competitive tournament.
Wheatland-Grinnell
The Lady Indians opened the day with a victory over previously undefeated Wheatland-Grinnell. St. Francis earned an exciting 25-19, 27-25 win over a very good Lady Thunderhawk team. In set one, the Lady Indians earned three three-point runs to gain a slight edge in a highly competitive set. The Lady Indians' performance was consistent enough to only allow one run (of 5 points) to the Thunderhawks. The Lady Indians started the match executing very well. After an opening kill by the Lady Thunderhawks outstanding senior Mikayla Heier, St. Francis earned kills by Lindsey Johnson (2), Jessica Confer (2), and Hannah Zimbal and received an ace from Lindsey Johnson to earn a 10-4 advantage. The Thunderhawks used their first time-out to slow the Lady Indians' momentum. The Lady Indians did not earn another kill for an extended period of time. The next Lady Indian kill came from Zimbal as part of a three-point run moving the score to 18-10. Again, Wheatland-Grinnell (WG) used a time-out and followed with a five-point run including a kill by Heier, a kill by Jordan Vincent (5' 8" Jr.), two blocks, and an ace serve. The advantage quickly narrowed to 18-15. Fortunately for St. Francis, the Lady Thunderhawks missed a serve slowing their momentum. The next St. Francis three-point run included a spike by Lauren Johnson and a strong serve by Karly Bandel; both causing Thunderhawk errors. The run moved the scoreboard to 23-17. The set closed on alternating kills by Vincent and Confer. St. Francis won set one 25-19.
An exchange of kills by Mia Morrow, Mikayla Heier, Livia Schultz (5' 8" Fr.), and Jessica Confer brought set two to a 2-all tie. The next kill resulted from an aggressive serve by Lauren Johnson setting up an over-pass kill by Confer. The spike gave St. Francis their first lead of the set, 4-3. A kill by Lindsey Johnson tied the set at 5, but Jordyn Vincent answered on the next volley. St. Francis then earned their first run of the set, three points, getting a kill and ace from Lindsey Johnson and a kill from Emma Johnson to lead 8-6. Again, the Lady Indians consistent play limited their opponent to one run (three or more points) in set two. But.....the Thunderhawk run was an extended one--covering 12 points. Only two of the points came on Lady Thunderhawk kills, both by Livia Schultz. The outburst gave WG a commanding 8-18 advantage. The Lady Indians held strong and soon began chipping away at the deficit. Back-to-back kills by Hannah Zimbal plus a hitting error by WG trimmed the margin a bit. Emma Johnson then sandwiched a kill in between ones by Vincent and Schultz (12-20). The next SF run resulted from an attack error by WG, an ace by Morrow, and a well-placed tip by Confer. The action caused a WG time-out at 15-20. On the next serve, WG scored on a over-pass kill. A stuff-block by Confer and a kill by Schultz preceded the next Lady Indian run. The Lady Indians earned six consecutive points on an ace from Confer, an over-pass kill by Emma Johnson, and a dump-set by Lauren Johnson as well as three WG errors. The Lady Indians had recovered from a 10-point deficit to take the lead 23-22. Vincent re-tied the set at 23 with another strong spike, but the Lady Thunderhawks missed their next service attempt. Another Vincent kill tied the set at 24-all. An ace serve by Morgan Zimmerman (5'3" Jr.) put the Lady Indians in a difficult position; needing three points to win with only one error to give (24-25). St. Francis closed the next three volleys with kills by Morrow and Zimbal (2). The Lady Indians had won in outstanding come-from-behind fashion to earn a 27-25 victory. In the match, WG missed 5 serves, St. Francis missed 2.
Weskan
After setting out two matches, the Lady Indians played Weskan. The Lady Indians defeated Weskan in straight sets, 25-15, 25-12. In set one, St. Francis earned four runs of three or more points and did not allow three consecutive points to the Lady Coyotes at any time. The first run, four points in length, gave St. Francis a 4-1 lead and included a kill by Mia Morrow and two ace serves by Karly Bandel. A deep-tip by Emma Johnson started a five-point run for the Lady Indians moving the scoreboard to 9-3. The run included a nice stuff by Lauren Johnson. A kill by Lindsey Johnson preceded a kill by Weskan's Jenna See and stuff-block by JC Allen. Emma answered with a kill and an ace serve making the score 12-6. The margin grew to 16-9 on a Lady Coyote passing error. Another three-point run moving the score to 19-11 was highlighted by a stuff-block by Lauren Johnson and an over-pass kill by Lindsey Johnson. A five-point St. Francis run extended the lead to 24-13. During the flurry, Jessica Confer earned a kill, Emma Johnson recorded a stuff, Lauren Johnson smashed a kill, and Lindsey Johnson powered a spike through an attempted block. The final point of the run was scored on a stuff-block by McKenna Poling receiving her first action of the tournament. Senior Jessica Confer finalized the set with an aggressive kill giving St. Francis a 25-15 win in set one.
The Coyotes would not earn a run of three points (or more) in the entire match. After missing their first two serves of the match, St. Francis earned an 8-4 lead capitalizing on a tip-kill by Jessica Confer, a stuff-block by Emma Johnson, and Hannah Zimbal winning a joust at the net. Weskan took a time-out, but soon a five-point run by the Lady Indians gave St. Francis a 15-6 lead. The run included two ace serves by Emma Johnson and two kills by Mia Morrow. The run ended on another missed serve by the Lady Indians. Weskan missed their next four serves in succession. With some of the younger Lady Indians seeing action, St. Francis cruised to a 25-12 win in set two. In the closing action, Lindsey Johnson earned a kill and a stuff, and Emma Johnson and Mia Morrow each recorded kills.
Greeley County
The Lady Indians jumped out to a 5-0 lead in set one against Greeley County (GC). In the run, Lauren Johnson recorded a kill, Karly Bandel served two aces, and Jessica Confer earned a kill. A kill by Kamryn Youmans (5'4' Jr.) and an illegal alignment call against the Lady Indians reduced the lead to 5-3. The Lady Indians then scored three consecutive points on a kill by Emma Johnson and two kills by Lindsey Johnson before missing a serve. Following the service error, Confer recorded another kill. St. Francis extended the lead to 7 after earning kills by Emma Johnson, Hannah Zimbal (2), and Mia Morrow. GC then earned a three-point run recording a kill and a service ace. The Lady Indians responded with a six-point run recording kills by Emma Johnson, Confer, and Lauren Johnson as well as three aces by Karly Bandel. The point-spread moved to 19-10. It was again time for some substitute players to see some action. Three consecutive attack errors by the Lady Indians gave GC their second three-point run of the set. The Lady Jackrabbits would only record one other run in the remainder of the match. Alondra Gomez, Lindsey Johnson, and Jessica Confer recorded back-to- back kills increasing the margin to ten (23-13). GC then scored on a first-ball-over kill, a free-ball kill, and ace by Brianna Hill (5' 2" So.). St. Francis closed with kills by Confer and Lauren Johnson.
Greeley County opened set two with a kill followed by a missed serve. St. Francis returned the favor missing their service attempt also. A strong attack by Jessica Confer led to a passing error by GC tying the set at 2-all. St. Francis then took a narrow lead, but a stuff-block by Mattie Brandl tied the set at 4. Hannah Zimbal's kill on the next volley gave St. Francis the lead for good. St. Francis then earned runs of 4 and then 3 points to lead 13-7. Along the way, kills were recorded by Mia Morrow, Emma Johnson, Zimbal, and Confer. Karly Bandel added an ace serve. The next Lady Indian run--eleven points in length--placed the set out-of-reach at 24-8 and rewarded several Lady Indian substitute players with court time. In the extended run, Morrow served two aces, and kills were earned by Lauren Johnson (2), Confer, and Lindsey Johnson. Freshman Jordyn Faulkender also recorded two kills in her first tournament action. St. Francis won the set 25-9.
Cheylin
Going undefeated in pool play, St. Francis earned the top seed from Pool A. The matches from Pool A had moved quickly, and the Pool A teams waited approximately and hour-and-a half for Pool B to complete play. St. Francis' first opponent in bracket play was Cheylin--#2 from Pool B. In set one versus Cheylin, the Lady Cougars earned runs of 3 and then 5 to lead 2-8. The flurry included a block and a kill by Cheylin's Jesie Frisbie (Sr.), but also included two missed serves and several attack errors by the Lady Indians. The action caused a St. Francis time-out for discussion. St. Francis responded with an 8-point run to take a 10-8 lead. The Lady Indians earned three consecutive kills by Jessica Confer and one each by the Johnson twins. It was Cheylin's turn for a time-out. The teams then battled somewhat evenly for a while before aces by Confer and Lindsey Johnson helped move the score to 14-10. A kill by Josie Frisbie (Sr.) narrowed the lead to 15-12, then the Lady Indians reeled off a 4-point run ending with a Karly Bandel ace and a stuff by Confer to lead 19-12. Unfortunately, the Lady Indians slowed themselves with another missed serve; their 5th of the set. Kills by Emma Johnson (2), Lindsey Johnson, and Confer sealed the win at 25-15.
Cheylin opened the second set with a four point run on a kill by Jesie Frisbie and three SF errors. The action led to an early St. Francis time-out. After returning to action. Cheylin missed their service attempt. An ace by Lauren Johnson pulled St. Francis within one (5-6), but a strong stuff by Jesie Frisbie slowed the Lady Indians advance. A four-point run including a back-row kill and a dump-set by Lauren Johnson and a over-pass tip by Emma Johnson finally earned the lead (9-8) and caused a Cheylin time-out. The next Lady Indian run--6 points in length--followed an over-set kill by Hannah Zimbal, two aces by Emma Johnson, and a kill by Mia Morrow. The action gave the Lady Indians a 16-10 advantage. Cheylin then made a move closing within three (16-13). A dump-set by Lauren Johnson, a first-ball-over kill by Karly Bandel, an aggressive kill by Jessica Confer, and a stuff-block by Lindsey Johnson earned St. Francis a 22-14 lead. The Lady Indians would close with kills by Confer and the Johnson twins to win 25-17.
Wheatland-Grinnell
Wheatland-Grinnell (WG) advanced to the championship match with an exciting win over a very good Golden Plains team in bracket play. Though the Lady Indians had defeated the previously undefeated Lady Thunderhawks in pool play, this match would be different. The Lady Thunderhawks were outstanding in their play both offensively and defensively and kept the Lady Indians scrambling to recover. After missing their opening serve, the Lady Indians soon found themselves down 4-0 after a stuff-block and kill by Mikayla Heier (5' 9" Sr.) and an ace serve by Jessica Heier (5' 4" Jr.) The Lady Indians took an early time-out to re-group. The margin grew to five points (1-6), but an ace by Lindsey Johnson and a powerful kill by Jessica Confer trimmed the margin to three (4-7). WG then reeled off 6 straight points to lead 5-13. An over-pass kill by Hannah Zimbal stopped the run, and was followed by a Zimbal tip-kill. The momentum was killed by another missed serve--the third of the set by the Lady Indians. After trailing 8-16, a three-point run by St. Francis trimmed the deficit to 11-16 and included a Confer kill and an ace by Morrow off-the-net. The Thunderhawks answered with a three-point run of their own (11-19). The Lady Indians kept plugging away, gradually earning a stuff-block by Confer, a kill by Emma Johnson, a powerful kill by Lindsey Johnson, and two kills and a stuff by Zimbal to narrow the deficit to 19-22. It was as close as the Lady Indians would get. The Thunderhawks closed the set with kills by Jordyn Vincent (5'8' Jr.) and Mikayla Heier. St. Francis lost their first set of day, 19-25.
The Lady Thunderhawks play was excellent in set two. Though the Lady Indians did many things well, they could only muster one run in the set of three-points. WG earned runs of 6, 3, and 3 to take the advantage. In the first 10 volleys of the set, St. Francis earned one point on an ace by Lauren Johnson. WG recorded kills by Jessica Bernbeck (5' 4" Jr.), Mikayla Heier (2), and Kiersten Schroeder (5' 9" So.), and Livia Schultz (5' 8" Fr.) as well as a stuff by M. Heier. The Thunderhawks powered their way to a 2-8 lead. A kill by Jessica Confer and a dump-set by Lauren Johnson narrowed the margin, but soon an three-point WG run extended the lead to 4-11. After a St. Francis time-out, the teams continued to battle, mostly evenly, to a 7-16 score. During the action, St. Francis earned two more kills--one each by Mia Morrow and Lauren Johnson. The next few volleys belonged to WG. Two aces by Morgan Zimmerman (5' 3" Jr.) were interspersed with two kills by Vincent stretching the lead to 8-20. St. Francis then earned their only 3-point run of the set; all coming on WG errors (11-20). Though the Lady Indians made some beautiful plays in the closing volleys and earned kills by Lindsey Johnson, Morrow, Emma Johnson, and Hannah Zimbal; the Lady Indians also missed three consecutive serves. St. Francis placed second in the Gove County Classic Volleyball Tournament losing set two to Wheatland-Grinnell 16-25.A summary of scores from the tournament is below. (Winning teams denoted in bold type.)
Pool A - Wheatland HS | Pool B - Quinter HS |
Wheatland-Grinnell vs St. Francis 19-25, 25-27 | Quinter vs Cheylin 18-25, 16-25 |
Weskan vs Greeley County 24-26, 14-25 | Golden Plains vs Decatur Community 26-24, 23-25, 22-25 |
Wheatland- Grinnell vs Greeley County 25-7, 25-5 | Quinter vs Golden Plains 21-25, 18-25 |
Weskan vs St. Francis 15-25, 13-25 | Cheylin vs Decatur Community 25-19, 26-24 |
Wheatland-Grinnell vs Weskan 25-11, 25-17 | Decatur Community vs Quinter 25-17, 24-26, 23-25 |
Greeley County vs St. Francis 16-25, 9-25 | Cheylin vs Golden Plains 25-17, 25-23 |
Bracket Play | |
Golden Plains vs Wheatland-Grinnell 25-19, 21-25, 25-21 | Weskan vs Decatur Community 16-25, 25-27 |
St. Francis vs Cheylin 25-15, 25-17 | Greeley County vs Quinter |
3rd Place - Cheylin vs Golden Plains 20-25, 25-19, 17-25 | 7th place - |
Championship - St. Francis vs Wheatland-Grinnell 19-25, 16-25 | 5th place - |
The Lady Indians will play Wallace County and Greeley County in Sharon Springs on Tuesday, September 11th
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