VB Teams Compete in Bird City
The Lady Indian varsity volleyball team gathered two more wins on Tuesday, October 1, 2019. In matches played in the Cheylin High School Gym in Bird City, the Lady Indians defeated Decatur Community 25-20, 25-18; and then overcame a scrappy Cheylin squad 25-18; 25-20. The Lady Indian junior varsity team lost to Decatur Community 15-25, 19-25. There was no JV match between Cheylin and St. Francis.
In the first varsity match of the evening, St. Francis competed with Decatur Community (DC). The Lady Indians opened with two kills by Mia Morrow. An ace by Morrow moved the score to 4-1 before the Lady Red Devils narrowed the margin to one point. St. Francis responded with a 3-point run all coming on DC miscues. A kill by DC senior Alyssa Van Vleet ended the run, but was answered by an off-the-block kill by Hanna Zimbal. Trailing 9-6, the Lady Devils earned a 4-point run to take a brief lead (9-10) receiving a kill and two aces by Van Vleet. A DC missed serve retied the set at 10-all. The Lady Devils would not lead again in the set though the score would become tied several times. The teams battled aggressively and several nice plays were made by both teams as they inched the score upward. St. Francis earned kills by Jesslynn Houtman, two stuff-blocks by Hannah Zimbal, two kills by Rian Zimbal, and an ace from Morrow along the way. DC senior Anna Carter hammered two kills and junior Alana Raile recorded one. Trailing 18-14, DC called time-out to regroup. After a DC attack error, St. Francis led by five (19-14), but a quick DC run narrowed the margin to 19-17. In the run, DC received two kills from Van Vleet and an ace from Raile. A missed serve ended the DC rally. St. Francis responded with a five-point run getting a stuff by Emma Johnson, a dump-set by Johnson, and lazily-served ace by Kattie Wurm. Though DC used a time-out during the action attempting to slow the momentum, St. Francis increased the margin to 24-17. Two SF attack errors and a kill by Carter gave DC glimpse of hope, but a lift call on DC ended the set. St. Francis won set one 25-20.
SF received the first two points of set two on DC errors. The Lady Red Devils followed with a 5-point run including two aces by Alyssa Van Vleet and a kill by Anna Carter to lead 2-5. Jesslynn Houtman's over-pass kill was followed by a stuff and kill by Hannah Zimbal retying the score. A SF attack error was followed by a Lady Indian run of 6 points moving SF to a 12-6 advantage. In the run, Mia Morrow served two aces, Hannah Zimbal scored on an aggressive spike, and Rian Zimbal added a kill. An over-set kill by DC senior Sage Lohefener ended the run, but was answered immediately by another H. Zimbal kill. An over-set tip by Hannah Zimbal moved the scoreboard to 14-8. DC narrowed the margin to four (16-12) receiving back-to-back kills from Van Vleet after a stuff by Emma Johnson. The Lady Indians then added three straight points; one of which came on a tip-kill by Hannah Zimbal extending the lead to 19-12. A three-point run by the Lady Devils narrowed the advantage to 20-17 a bit later, but SF followed with a 4-point run including a back-row off-the-net kill by Karly Bandel and two aces by Ellee Krien. Emma Johnson finished the match placing a "facial" on a DC back-row defender with a powerful attack. St. Francis won set two 25-18.
The junior varsity match between St. Francis and Decatur Community featured few kills as most of the points scored in the match resulted from miscues. The match opened with missed serves by both teams. DC earned a stuff-block and an ace by sophomore Jacie Fortin to lead 2-6. The next DC ace, by sophomore Brecklyn Jensen, moved the scoreboard to 5-12. By this time, SF had already missed three serves. Perla Yanez earned the first Lady Indian kill at 7-13. An over-pass kill by DC sophomore Riley Ketterl gave the Lady Red Devils a 10-20 lead. Bailey Workman would earn the only additional SF kill in the set. St. Francis lost to DC 15-25.
The second set was very similar. Nine serves were missed in the set (DC-5; SF-4). Riley Ketterl scored four aces early in the set helping DC jump out to a 0-8 lead. A missed serve ended the DC run, but was followed by a SF serving error. Bailey Workman recorded back-to-back kills and Mireya Palasio-Rocha served an ace narrowing the margin to 4-9, but then another missed serve stopped the run. The Lady Indians trailed by seven at one point (7-14) but narrowed the margin to four (15-19) by competing hard. Three more kills were recorded in the match; two by DC (Jr. Grace Vontz; Fr. Ellie Anderson) and one by Molly Gilliland for the Lady Indians. St. Francis lost to Decatur Community 19-25.
The varsity match between Cheylin and St. Francis was very entertaining. Both teams played well and both competed fiercely. An exchange of kills by Mia Morrow and Cheylin's Grace Sabatka (senior) opened the first set. Back-to-back kills by Morrow and Hannah Zimbal moved the score to 5-2. An off-the-block kill by Sabatka narrowed the margin to one (5-4). The play was followed by the teams trading service errors. A kill by Emma Johnson helped, but a third SF serving error didn't. Soon, Cheylin had retied the set at 8-all. Behind some aggressive serves by Johnson, SF reeled off a 7-point run essentially deciding the set. In the run, Johnson recorded an ace and Hannah Zimbal smashed an aggressive spike. The Lady Indian lead was now 15-8. The Lady Cougars followed with a run of their own; four points--all coming on SF miscues as well as another service error (15-12). Two explosive back-to back kills by Hannah Zimbal moved the score to 20-13. A kill by Rian Zimbal plus a kill and an ace by H. Zimbal helped advance the margin to 24-16. Though Cheylin sophomore Grace Wright earned a short-serve ace late in the set, Johnson's tip finalized the score at 25-18.
Cheylin took a 0-2 lead in set two earning a stuff by sophomore Brooke Porubsky and a kill by Grace Sabatka. Jesslynn Houtman won a joust at the net for the Lady Indians' first score, but Sabatka followed with another kill. Trailing 1-4, the Lady Indians earned a three-point run behind two aces by Ellee Krien to tie the set at 5-all. Cheylin answered with a 3-point run including another kill by Sabatka. SF scored three consecutive points, one on an ace by Alondra Gomez, to re-tie the set (8-8). It was now Cheylin's turn for a run. Four consecutive points placed the Lady Cougars in charge 8-12. The run featured a off-the-net kill by senior Kaylynn Hendricks and a no-play ace by freshman Vivian Yanez. Hannah Zimbal earned a kill and Kattie Wurm served up an ace to narrow the gap, but Hendricks followed with another kill for Cheylin. Back-to back kills by Mia Morrow narrowed the deficit to 12-13, before a service error reappeared. Down by three (12-15), the Lady Indians scored five straight points to lead 17-15. Morrow earned two kills in the run; one coming off a set by Jordyn Faulkender. St. Francis now led 17-15, but.....the Lady Indians missed another serve, and Cheylin tied the set on a 4-hit call on the next volley. Again, the Lady Indians responded well; scoring four straight points. Both Zimbal sisters (Hannah and Rian) recorded kills during the action. An ace by Krien was followed by a kill by Sabatka moving the score to 23-19, but the Lady Indians defeated a scrappy Cheylin team 25-20.
The Lady Indians will play in Atwood on Thursday, October 3, against Rawlins County and Wauneta-Palisade (NE).
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