Lady Indians 2nd In NWKL Tourney
The Northwest Kansas League Volleyball Tournament was held in Oberlin on Saturday, October 19. The Lady Indians competed very well in the tournament earning a second place finish. The Lady Indians defeated Decatur Community in three sets in the opening match of pool play and followed with victories over Quinter and Wallace County to earn the Pool B #1 seed and advance to the championship bracket. In bracket play, the Lady Indians defeated Dighton in the semi-final contest to advance to the championship match. St. Francis lost to Rawlins County in a three-set back-and-forth match to place second in the NWKL Tournament.
The Lady Indians will compete in the Regional Volleyball Tournament in Rexford on Tuesday, October 22. The Lady Indians will play the second match of the tournament at approximately 4:00 p.m. against Triplains-Brewster. If the Lady Indians defeat the Lady Titans, they will face #2 seeded Rawlins County in a rematch of the NWKL championship game for an opportunity to qualify for the Sub-State Tournament on Saturday, October 26.
Decatur Community
The Lady Indians began the Decatur Community (DC) match a bit sluggish. After falling behind 0-5 in the opening moments of the match, the Lady Indians used a quick time-out attempting to find some momentum. All of the early points came on Lady Indian miscues. The Lady Red Devils missed their service attempt after the time-out, but a strong spike by DC's Anna Carter (6' 1" Sr.) resulted in a SF passing error on the following volley. A kill by Mia Morrow was answered by an off-the-net kill by DC's Breyana Gehring (5' 9" Fr.). A kill by Emma Johnson moved the score to 5-7, but a tip and an ace by Carter gave DC a four-point advantage 5-9. St. Francis soon spent their final time-out. A four-point DC run moved the scoreboard to 6-14. The run resulted from a SF attack error, an over-set tip by Gehring, a touch by SF on a ball headed out-of-bounds, and an ace by DC's Kennedy Jensen (5' 6" Sr.). The run ended on a DC service error. Alyssa Van Vleet (5' 9" Sr.) followed with two kills for the Lady Red Devils extending the margin to nine (7-16). A ace by Johnson was followed by a kill by Gehring, and a strong kill by Morrow was answered by an off-the-net kill by Carter (10-18). Carter's kill began a 5-point run by the Lady Devils which included kills by Jensen, Erin May (5' 7" Sr.), and another by Carter. A deep-tip by Morrow ended the run, and Johnson followed with a dump-set point. DC earned points on the final three volleys of the set receiving a service error from the Lady Indians, a free-ball off-the-net kill by Gehring, and a kill by Carter. St. Francis lost set one to Decatur Community 12-25.
The Lady Indians began set two earning a 6-point run. Five of the points came on DC errors and one resulted from a kill by Jordyn Faulkender. Faulkender's next two kills moved the score to 8-2. After two SF attack errors, Hannah Zimbal earned a kill increasing the advantage to five (9-4). DC responded with a 5-point run tying the set and expiring one of the Lady Indians time-outs. The run featured a kill and an ace by Anna Carter and three consecutive kills by Alyssa Van Vleet. A missed serve ended the DC run. Emma Johnson followed with a dump-set score. With the score tied at 11, Johnson added a deep-tip point. Van Vleet answered with another kill beginning a three-point Red Devil run. An exchange including two Carter aces, a tip-kill by Rian Zimbal, and a stuff by Mia Morrow tied the set at 16-all. Tied at 17, the Lady Indians earned 5 straight points on a DC attack error and 4 consecutive kills by Morrow to lead 22-17. A deep-tip by Carter was followed by another Morrow kill. Carter's next kill was answered by one from Faulkender. A tip just over a would-be block by Carter moved the score to 24-20, but an attack error by the Lady Red Devils ended the set. St. Francis won set two 25-20.
Though the Lady Indians missed three serves in the deciding set, they held the Lady Devils to only one run (four points). Emma Johnson opened the set with an ace serve. Soon the Lady Indians added a 6-point run to increase the margin to 8-1. The flurry resulted in a DC time-out. After returning to action, Anna Carter earned an off-the-block kill for the Lady Devils. St Francis followed with another 3-point run featuring two aces by Mia Morrow extending the margin to 11-2. Action highlighted by two Carter kills, a kill by Alyssa Van Vleet, and an ace by Amy Wentz (5' 4" Sr.) for DC; as well as a through-the-block kill by Hannah Zimbal, an ace by Karly Bandel, and a stuff by Emma Johnson on a Van Vleet attack eventually resulted in a DC time-out at 18-8. St. Francis soon added a three-point run including a Zimbal kill to lead 21-9. Carter's next kill was followed by a deep-tip by Zimbal, an ace by Morrow, and a dump-set by Jordyn Faulkender extending the margin to 24-11. The only DC run of the set came in the closing volleys when the Lady Devils added four consecutive points on Lady Indian miscues. After a final SF time-out at 24-15, St. Francis closed the 25-15 win.
Quinter
The Lady Indians waisted little time is disposing the Lady Bulldogs from Quinter in two sets. St. Francis only allowed one run of three points in the set to the Lady Dawgs. Two set-opening aces by Emma Johnson and two kills by Mia Morrow helped the Lady Indians jump out to a quick 6-0 advantage before the run ended on a down-the-line spike by Quinter's Kayler Getz (5' 9" Jr.). Getz's second kill was followed by kills by Morrow and Rian Zimbal moving the score to 9-2. Quinter's only run of the match, featuring a stuff by Getz and an ace by Tavia Crites (5' 3' So.) narrowed the margin, but SF responded with a 6-point run of their own. This run included kills by Emma Johnson and Hannah Zimbal as well as two aces by Karly Bandel. The action increased the Lady Indians' advantage to ten (16-6). The margin grew to 21-9 with the addition of kills by Johnson and Morrow and an ace by Alondra Gomez. St. Francis closed set one with a four-point run featuring three consecutive aces by Morrow. St. Francis won set one 25-10.
Set two was very similar. The Lady Indians followed a kill by Quinter's Kayler Getz with a 4-point run to lead 5-1. Mia Morrow earned a kill and Alondra Gomez served an ace during the action. After the first of four missed serves by the Lady Indians in this set, SF earned a three-point run featuring a Morrow kill and a well-placed tip by Jordyn Faukender. The addition of two kills by Hannah Zimbal and a dump-set score by Ellee Krien moved the scoreboard to 12-4. A kill by Quinter's Abby Herl (5' 6" Jr.) ended this run. The Lady Indians followed with a 5-point run extending the lead to 17-5. This run was aided by two aces by Kattie Wurm and a tip-kill by Hannah Zimbal. After an exchange of an ace by Quinter's Addie Briggs (5' 9" Jr.) and a kill by Zimbal, the Lady Indians added another run of 4 points getting a kill by Faulkender and three consecutive stuff-blocks by Zimbal. A Getz kill closed the run, but the Lady Indians would earn one more to end the contest. The final run was highlighted by two Zimbal kills. St. Francis won set two 25-10.
Wallace County
After suffering a close loss to Wallace County (WC) a few days earlier, the Lady Indians were ready for revenge. St. Francis opened the match with a kill by Jordyn Faulkender, two aces by Emma Johnson, and two kills by Mia Morrow to lead 6-0. Unfortunately, it would be the only run the Lady Indians would earn in the first set. The Lady Wildcats would earn four in the set. An off-the-block kill by Morrow was followed by a off-speed kill by WC's Haylee Hennick (5' 11" Sr.) moving the score to 8-3. Hennick's next kill began a 4-point Wildcat run that also included a deep-tip by Jesse Carmen (5' 8" Jr.) narrowing the advantage to 9-7. St. Francis followed with a kill by Rian Zimbal and an ace by Ellee Krien, but the next WC run tied the set at 11-all and caused the first St. Francis time-out to be used. St. Francis regained the lead (12-11) on a kill by Rian Zimbal, but it would be the last lead the Lady Indians would hold in the set. Two kills and an ace by Aubrey Kuhlman (5' 8" Sr.) helped advance the Lady Cats to a 13-16 lead. St. Francis called time-out to regroup. The momentum grew into a 7-point run eventually placing the Lady Indians at a 13-20 deficit. The Lady Cats scored on a kill by Brookley Dinkel (5' 5" So.), a free-ball off-the-net kill by Carmen, and a stuff by Hennick. The Lady Indians would earn only one more kill in the set (Morrow) while the Wildcats earned 3 by Hennick and received two aces from Makenna Chaney (5' 8" Jr.). St. Francis lost set one 16-25.
The first kill of set two was recorded by WC's Haylee Hennick. St. Francis followed with a three-point run resulting from kills by Mia Morrow and Hannah Zimbal and a stuff-block by Zimbal on an attack by Hennick. Hennick followed with a through-the-block kill and an ace before Zimbal recorded her 2nd kill of the set. Back-to-back kills by Aubrey Kuhlman soon tied the set at 5-all and Kuhlman's third kill gave the Wildcats a 5-7 advantage. St. Francis re-took the lead with a 3-point run featuring an over-pass stuff by Zimbal and an ace by Ellee Krien. Kuhlman's 4th kill retied the set at 8. After an off-the-net free-ball kill by Zimbal, WC took a 9-11 lead on a over-pass tip by Hennick, and SF took their first time-out. This set would have 10 ties and 6 lead changes before the winner would be decided. Kills by Rian Zimbal and Morrow helped tie the set at 12. An exchange of kills by Hennick and Morrow moved the score to 13-all. Morrow's next kill tied the set at 14 and was followed by a WC attack error and time-out. Two more WC miscues expanded the SF lead to 17-14. A Kuhlman kill was answered by a deep-tip by Johnson and then a joust won by Kuhlman was followed by a SF setting error again tying the set at 18. The run would extend to four consecutive points for the Lady Wildcats with the addition of an aggressive kill by Makenna Chaney and a no-play point for WC. Trailing 19-21, Rian Zimbal earned a kill for SF, but the Lady Wildcats followed with two consecutive points; one on a SF passing error and one on a well-placed tip by Hennick (20-23). The Lady Indians would earn the next five points. In the run, Kattie Wurm served up an ace and McKenna Poling scored on an over-pass tip. St. Francis won set two 25-23.
A total of five runs would be recorded in the deciding set; two by WC and three by SF. Both of WC's runs were three points in length. The Lady Indians earned runs of 6, 6, and 3. WC's Victoria Springsteel (5' 7" Jr.) began the set with kill. The Lady Indians followed with a 6-point run featuring 3 kills by Mia Morrow and a scoring tip by Hannah Zimbal. WC used a time-out and soon added a two kills by Haylee Hennick and an ace by Makenna Chaney to close within two (7-5). A Morrow kill ignited the next 6-point SF run including a dump-set score by Emma Johnson and three aces by Morrow. The Lady Indians now led 13-5. Though additional kills would be earned by Jordyn Faulkender, Rian Zimbal (2), and Hannah Zimbal; and Kattie Wurm would serve an ace, the margin would remain at eight until the Lady Indians earned their next run. This run would extend the lead to ten (20-10) and would be highlighted by a kill by Faulkender. A dump-set by Emma Johnson and stuff-block by Faulkender on an attack by Jesse Carmen increased the margin to 22-11. WC would earn another 3-point run before the match ended, but two more kills and a final over-pass stuff by Johnson ended the match. St. Francis earned a hard-fought victory over a good Wallace County team 25-15.
Dighton
The Lady Indians only allowed one run of three points to the Dighton Lady Hornets in the entire match. Playing without the services of four-year starter Ella Roberts, the scrappy Hornets made it difficult for the Lady Indians to become comfortable as they continued to battle throughout the match. Four missed serves by the Lady Indians in the set did not help either. Emma Johnson's deep-tip score was followed by a kill by Dighton's Traci Cramer (5' 6" So.). A kill by Breanna Redburn (5' 7" Sr.) tied the set at 4, but a dump-set by Johnson returned the lead to SF. A pair of kills by Mia Morrow helped move the advantage to 8-6. A kill by Redburn was answered by an over-pass stuff by Hannah Zimbal enroute to a 11-9 score. A Morrow ace moved the advantage to three. After a kill by Dighton's Tomi Gaill (5' 7" So.), a tip by Zimbal led to a net violation on the Hornets. A passing error on the next volley moved the SF advantage to five (15-10). After an exchange of kills by Redburn and Morrow (back row), Dighton called time-out. Karly Bandel's ace moved the score to 17-11. A three-point SF run including a Morrow kill increased the margin to 20-13. All but one of the remaining points would be scored on errors; with Hannah Zimbal recording a stuff-block in the closing 3-point SF run. St. Francis won set one 25-15.
After an ace by Emma Johnson to open set two, Dighton scored their only run of the match (three points). The run concluded with a dump-set score by Trinity Pierce (5' 5" Sr.). Mia Morrow tied the set with a powerful kill, but the Lady Indians missed their next serve. After a deep-tip score by Morrow, Breanna Redburn scored a kill and Rierce added an ace placing the Lady Indians at a 4-6 deficit. The next two points, one for each team, were won by jousts at the net (Faulkender and Gaill). A three-point SF run including a stuff by Hanna Zimbal and two aces by Karly Bandel gave the lead back to SF (8-7). A pair of Lady Indian miscues returned the lead to Dighton until a tip by Hannah Zimbal retied the set at 9-all. Gaill followed with back-to-back kills to again place the Lady Indians at a disadvantage. Another 3-point run including kills by Morrow and Zimbal moved the score to 12-11. Kills by Faulkender and Morrow prodded the score toward 14-all. Rian Zimbal began a 7-point SF run with kill. In the run, Hannh Zimbal recorded a kill, Faulkender recorded a stuff against Redburn, and Morrow served up an ace. The Lady Indian lead was now 21-14. Though Dighton would receive kills from McKenzie Whipple (5' 8" Jr.) and Gaill (3) as well as an ace from Pierce to close the gap, St. Francis earned two kills by Rian Zimbal to close the set with a 25-19 win.
Rawlins County
The Rawlins County (RC) Lady Buffaloes looked nearly invincible early in the championship match. Playing very well and capitalizing on a few SF miscues, the Lady Buffs jumped out to a large early lead. The Lady Buffs earned 10 runs (three or more consecutive points) in the 3-set match while the Lady Indians could only earn 4. St. Francis also missed 7 serves in the match; RC missed 3. Kierstyn Domsch (5' 7" Jr.) got the Lady Buffs off to a great start earning 5 kills in the first 8 volleys of set one. Senior Brea Lankas (5' 9") scored on two nice plays (kill and stuff) and an error by the Lady Indians accounted for the other point. Trailing 0-4, the Lady Indians used their first time-out. An attack error by Domsch ended the onslaught at 0-8. A RC passing error on a tip by Hannah Zimbal accounted for the second Lady Indian score, but RC's Sadie Sramek (5' 6" So.) followed with another kill for the Lady Buffs. With the Lady Indians trailing 3-9, RC earned their next run. A missed serve by the Lady Indians began the run and kills by Lankas and senior Kristen Beckman (5' 4") soon stretched the deficit to 3-13. The Lady Indians would only earn two more kills in the set (Zimbal and Morrow) while the Lady Buffs scored on two more kills by Domsch, aces by Ashlyn Livas (5' 3" Sr.) and Beckman, as well as stuff-blocks by Beckman and Domsch. St. Francis lost set one 8-25.
The Lady Indians played better in the second set while the Lady Buffs were much less dominating. After an initial attack error by SF, the Lady Indians earned their first run of the match receiving over-set and over-pass tips from Morrow and an ace from Emma Johnson. Though a missed serve ended the run, the Lady Indians received two "gift" points from RC on a missed serve and attack error. An exchange of kills by Morrow, Lankas, and Beckman (2) quickly moved the set to a 6-6 tie. This set would be tied 6 times before it was decided. A RC service error began the next SF run which included an off-the-block kill by Rian Zimbal (11-9). Though Hannah Zimbal was double-stuffed by Kierstyn Domsch and Brea Lankas, Zimbal returned the favor recording a stuff against Sadie Sramek on the following volley. Back-to-back stuffs by Johnson on Domsch attacks moved the score to 14-11 and caused RC to use their first time-out. The Lady Buffs returned to the floor to earn 4 straight points causing a SF time-out. The action included kills by sophomore Abby Singhateh (5' 6") and Lankas. Another stuff by Johnson on Domsch ended the Lady Buffs' run and started a 4-point run for SF. In this run, Johnson served an ace and Mia Morrow recorded a kill (18-15). St. Francis increased their advantage to four points (20-16) on an over-set tip by Morrow and an on-the-line ace by Alondra Gomez. Another service error ended the run. Consecutive kills by the Zimbal sisters increased the lead to five (22-17) before Kristen Beckman earned another kill for the Lady Buffs. St. Francis earned a deep-tip kill by Hannah Zimbal, a stuff by Johnson, and a back-row kill by Karly Bandel (after an outstanding save by Rian Zimbal) to close out the set 25-19.
The NWKL championship came down to one final set. The Lady Indians fell behind 0-3 early in the set due to a service error, an attack error, and a double stuff by Kierstyn Domsch and Brea Lankas. Mia Morrow earned a kill in the middle of the RC defense to end the run. Another SF service error moved the scoreboard to 2-5 and was followed by a over-set stuff by Domsch. St. Francis called time-out to re-group. The deficit quickly increased to 2-10 with the addition of a stuff by Lankas, a down-the-line kill by Kristen Beckman, and two SF errors. Two kills by Rian Zimbal helped nudge the score toward 5-13 where SF used their final time-out. A scoring tip by Morrow just over an attempted block was answered by a kill by Abby Singhateh. Another Lankas stuff was off-set by an off-the-block kill by Morrow. The Lady Indians narrowed the deficit to 10-16, but then allowed two more RC runs that extended the deficit to 11-22. In the action, RC received kills from Lankas (2) and Domsch (2), while St. Francis sandwiched in a stuff by Hannah Zimbal on a Lankas swing attack. A kill by Rian Zimbal ended the final RC run. Only two more kills were recorded in the match, both by Rian Zimbal. St. Francis lost to Rawlins County 15-25.
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