Lady Indians 2nd in Oberlin Invitational
The Lady Indian volleyball team placed second in the Oberlin Invitational Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, September 29. St. Francis was defeated in their first match of the day by the Norton Lady Blue Jays, the eventual tournament champion. Norton did not lose any matches during the competition. Later in the day, St. Francis defeated Hoxie, Decatur Community, and Rawlins County to place second. Rawlins County placed third in the competition. Hoxie earned fourth and Decatur Community fifth.
In junior varsity action, the Lady Indians did not win a match in the tournament, but earned set wins in two of their matches. St. Francis lost to Decatur Community 25-23, 23-25, 7-15. The Lady Indians were then defeated by Hoxie 19-25, 25-18, 10-15. In their final two matches of the day, St. Francis lost to Norton (13-25, 17-25) and to Rawlins County (11-25, 14-25).
Norton
St. Francis seemed a bit sluggish early in the first set of the day as they were suffering from some illness. A very good Norton team jumped out to a quick 0-5 lead earning three kills and winning a joust at the net in the first four volleys. The scores resulted from good plays by four different Lady Jays. An attack error by the Lady Indians on the ensuing volley resulted in an early St. Francis time-out. After returning to the floor, Jessica Confer earned a kill to finally get the Lady Indians on the scoreboard. Two Lady Indian passing errors extended the Norton lead before Confer earned another kill on an over-set. Another three-point Norton run included a kill by junior Delilah Geringer and two more St. Francis passing errors. The deficit increased to 3-10. St. Francis responded with an over-set kill by Mia Morrow and an ace by Emma Johnson trimming the lead a bit, but a missed serve and an ace by Geringer caused the Lady Indians to use their final time-out early in the match (5-12). Soon, another missed serve by the Lady Indians coupled with a stuff by 6' 2" sophomore Terra Hauser, a kill by by sophomore Sarah David and a kill by Hauser increased the deficit to ten (6-16). A tip by Emma Johnson ended the run, but was followed by another Hauser kill and a stuff and kill by her sister Hadley (6' 2" senior). After a couple Norton miscues, Hadley Hauser smashed an aggressive spike to the floor displaying her power (11-18). Thankfully, the Blue Jays missed their next serve, and Lauren Johnson followed with a dump-set. An ace by Morrow and a tip by Emma Johnson pulled the Lady Indians within five (14-19) and caused Norton to use a time-out to slow the Lady Indians' momentum. After returning to the floor, Hadley Hauser smacked another powerful spike making a statement. A stuff by H. Hauser and a kill by David stretched the lead to 16-22 before a kill by Morrow ended the Norton run. Norton closed set one with a three-point run including an ace and a kill by T. Hauser. St. Francis lost the first set 17-25.
The Lady Indians began the second set much better than the first. After an opening stuff-block by Hadley Hauser, St. Francis earned a six-point run getting a kill by Jessica Confer, two attack errors from Norton, and three aces by Lauren Johnson. The run ended on a kill by Norton's Avery Miller (So.) followed by another stuff by H. Hauser. After the Blue Jays closed with two (5-7), the Lady Indians earned a four-point run that included kills by Lauren and Lindsey Johnson to lead 11-5. Back-to-back Norton errors moved the advantage to 13-6 and caused the Lady Jays to spend a time-out. After re-grouping, David earned a kill and Jaida McEwen (Jr.) served up an ace. The next Norton run, 5 points in length, narrowed the gap to 14-13 and caused a St. Francis time-out. Lauren Johnson's aggressive kill ended the run. Emma Johnson followed with a well-placed deep-tip to give the Lady Indians a bit of breathing room (16-13.). H. Hauser narrowed the margin to one (16-15) with another powerful kill, but Lauren Johnson answered with a scoring dump-set. A tip and stuff by H. Hauser tied the set at 17-all. A hitting error by the Lady Indians was followed by a St. Francis time-out and another Blue Jay kill, this one by Geringer. Trailing 17-19, St. Francis earned kills by Lauren and Lindsey Johnson to tie the set again. Kills by the Hauser sisters gave Norton a two-point advantage 20-22. Though St. Francis would score on attacks by Morrow and Lauren Johnson in the closing volleys, the Lady Indians could not hold on to the lead. St. Francis lost set two 22-25.
Hoxie
The Lady Indians met Hoxie in their second match of the day. After losing close matches to Hoxie twice earlier in the season, the Lady Indians finally defeated Hoxie in the tournament pairing. The Lady Indians played well and capitalized on numerous Hoxie errors enroute to a 25-10 win in set one. The Lady Indians did not allow a three-point run to Hoxie at any point in set one. St. Francis jumped out to a 5-0 lead earning kills by Jessica Confer and Hannah Zimbal (2) along the way. After Confer won a joust at the net, Hoxie's Trinity Balluch (Sr.) earned a kill moving the score to 6-2. St. Francis followed with a three-point run including two more Confer kills that triggered a Hoxie time-out. An exchange of kills by Macy Schamberger (Jr.) and Emma Johnson was soon followed by a Mia Morrow kill increasing the lead to 12-3. The next 3-point run also belonged to St. Francis and included kills by Emma and Lauren Johnson. The action increased the Lady Indians' lead to 17-6. A kill and stuff by Schamberger narrowed the margin a bit, but the Lady Indians soon earned kills by Confer and Morrow and a stuff-block by Emma Johnson to lead 24-9. The set ended on an exchange of errors. St. Francis won set on in convincing fashion 25-10.
Hoxie began set two with a kill by Baylee McKenna (So.) and a double-stuff block by McKenna and Balluch on an attack by Jessica Confer. St. Francis responded with three straight kills; two by Hannah Zimbal and one by Confer. A dump-set by Lauren Johnson tying the set at 4-all was followed by two Hoxie errors. After being tied at 7 and 8, St. Francis earned a 10-8 advantage on a dump-set by Emma Johnson and a Hoxie attack error. Hoxie responded with a 7-point run including two kills and an ace as well as four Lady Indian miscues. The action placed the Lady Indians at a 10-15 deficit before the run was halted by a deep-tip by Lauren Johnson. The next Hoxie run, 5 points in length, placed the Lady Indians at a 13-22 disadvantage. The run included a kill by Hoxie's Lauren Spillman (So.) and a stuff and kill by Balluch. A dump-set by Lauren Johnson stopping the run was followed by two aces by Karly Bandel. Hoxie called time-out leading 16-22. Though the Lady Indians missed their serve after the time-out, a tip-kill by Confer and two attack errors by Hoxie narrowed the margin to 19-23. A kill by Hoxie's Maiah Castle (Sr.) and a Lady Indian error completed a 19-25 Hoxie win.
St. Francis opened the deciding set with a missed serve and an attack error before earning a kill by Emma Johnson. Hoxie followed with kills by Paiton Rogers (So.) and Castle as well as a stuff by Castle to lead 1-5. After a St. Francis time-out, a 4-point Lady Indian run including kills by the Johnson twins tied the set at 7-all. Another missed serve stopped the St. Francis run and started a three-point Hoxie run placing the Lady Indians at a 7-10 disadvantage. A 9-14 margin caused a St. Francis time-out and was followed by a tip by Jessica Confer and stuff-block by Emma Johnson narrowing the gap to 11-14. Hoxie answered with another 3-point run, but it would be the last Hoxie run of the match. The action resulted from a kill by Rogers, a stuff by Balluch, and a kill by McKenna. Trailing 11-17, it was time for St. Francis to make an move....and they did. A four-point Lady Indian run soon triggered a Hoxie time-out. The run included a Confer tip and three Hoxie miscues. After the time-out, an aggressive kill by Rogers moved the score to 15-18. The Lady Indians then reeled off six straight points getting kills from Lauren Johnson and Mia Morrow as well as two stuff-blocks by Lindsey Johnson. The action burned another Hoxie time-out and gave the Lady Indians a 21-18 advantage. Lindsey's stuff of Schamberger moved the scoreboard to 23-20, and the Lady Indians finished the set with a three-point run to win 25-20.
Decatur Community
St. Francis began set one with a kill by Jessica Confer. Hannah Zimbal followed with two straight kills. After two attack errors by the Lady Red Devils, St. Francis led 5-0. A three-point run by Decatur Community (DC), trimmed the lead, but the Lady Indians won 11 of the next 13 volleys to lead 16-5. Though Confer and Lindsey Johnson earned kills and Confer and Emma Johnson served aces along the way, many of the points resulted from DC miscues. After a Zimbal kill gave St. Francis a 18-6 advantage, the Lady Devils scored a three-point run all resulting from Lady Indian errors. A Confer stuff ended the run. St. Francis closed the set on a 6-point run to win 25-13. The action included three Confer kills, a kill by Emma Johnson, and a stuff by Lindsey Johnson.
Two strong serves by Mia Morrow and an kill by Hanna Zimbal led to a 3-0 St. Francis advantage in set two. A 4-point run including kills by Emma Johnson and Lindsey Johnson (2) moved the score to 7-1. A series of three missed served by the Lady Indians allowed DC to trim the lead to 12-9 on their next 3-point run. Karly Bandel's back-row kill ended the DC run, but again the Lady Indians missed a serve. A kill by DC's Kennedy Jensen (Jr.) trimmed the advantage to 13-11 and caused St. Francis to use a time-out. After returning to action, ZImbal earned a kill on the next volley. An exchange of kills by DC's Jean Soderland (Sr.) and Confer kept the margin from changing. The Lady Devils then earned three straight points on St. Francis miscues tying the set at 15-all. After being tied at 16, a three-point St. Francis run ending with a dump-set by Emma Johnson triggered a DC time-out. A SF passing error on an attack by Alana Raile (So.) pulled the Lady Devils within two (19-17). A DC service error began a 4-point St. Francis run which included kills by Lauren Johnson and Mia Morrow and an ace by Lindsey Johnson. Johnson's missed serve stopped the run. It was the 5th missed serve by the Lady Indians in the set. St. Francis closed with a tip-kill by Zimbal and a kill by Confer. St. Francis won the match 25-18.
Rawlins County
As expected, the battle between St. Francis and Rawlins County for second place was highly competitive. Each team played well, and the outcome of the match was in question throughout. Rawlins County earned a kill by Brea Lankas (Jr.) to open set one. After two St. Francis errors, the Lady Buffaloes led 0-3. A kill by Mia Morrow tied the set at 4-all. but the Lady Indians did not lead until a 4-point run, including three kills by Morrow and a dump-set by Emma Johnson, gave the Lady Indians an 8-6 advantage. Rawlins County (RC) pulled within one (twice) on kills by Kristen Beckman (Jr.) and Kierstyn Domsch (So.), but the Lady Indians regained a three-point margin on back-to-back kills by Confer and LIndsey Johnson (13-10). The next SF run included kills by Lindsey Johnson and Morrow and moved the advantage to 16-11. Continuing to battle hard. RC scored four consecutive points to move the score to 16-15. A action included kills by Emily Trail and Domsch for the Lady Buffs. After a St. Francis time-out, St. Francis won the next five volleys with RC using a time-out in the action. St. Francis scored kills on four of the five volleys getting one from Emma Johnson, one from Lauren Johnson, and two from Morrow to lead 21-15. St. Francis did not earn another kill, but several RC passing errors resulted from strong attacks by the Lady Indians. St. Francis won set one 25-20. Mia Morrow recorded 7 kills in the set.
St. Francis earned a stuff-block by Hannah Zimbal on the opening volley, but then missed a service attempt. Kills by Emma Johnson and Jessica Confer were answered by a kill from Domsch and an ace by Lankas tying the score at 3-all. St. Francis then won 7 of the next 8 volleys to lead 10-4. Along the way, kills were earned by Confer, Mia Morrow, and Lauren Johnson. Emma Johnson recorded a stuff on a Domsch attack. A 3-point RC run, including kills by Beckman and Trail narrowed the advantage to 12-9 and caused a St. Francis time-out. Two Lady Indian miscues and a Beckman kill further narrowed the margin to 13-11. St. Francis responded with a three-point run including a stuff by Confer. Trailing 17-12, the Lady Buffs scored five straight points to tie the match (17-17). The action included a kill by Angie Singhateh (Sr.) and one by Trail. Emma Johnson's dump-set halted the advance. RC then earned three more points on kills by Singheteh and Beckman (2) to take an 18-20 lead. St. Francis used their final time-out. An exchange of kills off attempted blocks followed; one by Morrow and one by Beckman. St. Francis then scored a three-point run on a Morrow kill, a deep-tip by Lauren Johnson, and a slick sideways tip by Confer. The action resulted in a 22-21 lead for the Lady Indians. With the score tied at 22-all, Confer won a joust at the net giving St. Francis a one-point lead. Two tips by Lankas then gave RC the lead (23-24). Confer's kill tied the set at 24-all. An RC passing error and another Confer kill gave St. Francis a hard-earned 26-24 win.
St. Francis will play Greeley County, in Tribune, on Monday, October 1.
Complete match results for the tournament are below. Winning team denoted in bold type.
Varsity Matches:
Oberlin vs. Rawlins: 20-25, 12-25
St. Francis vs. Norton: 17-25, 22-25
Hoxie vs. Rawlins: 19-25, 25-16, 21-25
Norton vs. Oberlin: 25-14, 25-3
Hoxie vs. St. Francis: 10-25, 25-19, 20-25
Rawlins vs. Norton: 21-25, 25-23, 16-25
St. Francis vs. Oberlin: 25-13, 25-18
Norton vs. Hoxie: 25-17, 25-14
Rawlins vs. St. Francis: 20-25, 24-26
Oberlin vs. Hoxie: 14-25, 11-25
Tournament champs: NORTON
JV Matches:
Norton vs. Rawlins: 24-26, 15-25
St. Francis vs. Oberlin: 25-23, 23-25, 7-15
Norton vs. Hoxie: 19-25, 25-14, 15-12
Oberlin vs. Rawlins: 25-20, 22-25, 10-15
St. Francis vs. Hoxie: 19-25, 25-18, 10-15
Oberlin vs. Norton: 25-21, 22-25, 15-11
Rawlins vs. Hoxie: 25-14, 22-25, 15-11
Norton vs. St. Francis: 25-13, 25-17
Rawlins vs. St. Francis: 25-11, 25-14
Oberlin vs. Hoxie: 25-19, 18-25, 11-15
Tournament champions: RAWLINS COUNTY
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