Lady Indians Play Well In Oberlin Tourney
The Oberlin Invitational Volleyball Tournament was competed on Saturday, October 5. The Lady Indians finished the day with a 2-2 record. Hoxie won the tournament championship earning a perfect 4-0 record during the competition. The results of the varsity tournament matches are listed below. The winning team in each match is denoted in bold print.
| Opponents | Results |
| Decatur Community vs Rawlins County | 26-24; 17-25; 15-25 |
| St. Francis vs Norton | 27-29; 25-20; 25-23 |
| Hoxie vs Rawlins County | 17-25; 25-22; 25-21 |
| Norton vs Decatur Community | 25-17; 25-15 |
| Hoxie vs St. Francis | 25-22; 25-22 |
| Rawlins County vs Norton | 20-25; 19-25 |
| St. Francis vs Decatur Community | 25-20; 25-19 |
| Norton vs Hoxie | 22-25; 23-25 |
| Rawlins County vs St. Francis | 27-25; 25-18 |
| Decatur Community vs Hoxie | 23-25; 14-25 |
Norton
St. Francis opened their competition against a quality team from Norton. Norton's talented junior hitter, Tessa Hauser, sandwiched a kill in between two by Mia Morrow to open the contest. Hauser's second kill narrowed the St. Francis (SF) lead to 3-2. An ace by Morrow was answered by another Hauser kill which began a 4-point Norton run. The final three points of the run came on attack errors by the Lady Indians and gave the Lady Bluejays the lead 5-6. A back-row kill by Morrow was followed by a 7-point Norton run moving the deficit to 6-13 and causing St. Francis to burn both of their time-outs. The run was initiated by a service error by the Lady Indians and included kills by Norton junior Addison Brooks and freshman Cara Cox (2) along with several Lady Indian miscues. A down-the-line ace by Hannah Zimbal was answered by a stuff-block by Brooks. Back-to-back kills by Zimbal pulled the Lady Indians within four (10-14) and a communication error by the Lady Jays narrowed the gap to three. The difference would bounce between 3 and 4 points a few times, and Hauser added two more kills along the way. Trailing 13-17, the Lady Indians scored a 5-point run to take an 18-17 advantage. The Lady Indians scored only one kill in the run; a deep-tip by Jordyn Faulkender. When the Lady Indians took the lead, Norton used their first time-out. From this point in the contest, the score would be tied 8 more times and there would be 6 more lead changes as the teams battled. Zimbal's off-the-block kill gave St. Francis a 19-18 lead, but a push-kill by Norton's setter, junior Avery Miller, tied the set. An aggressive kill by Brooks was answered by an over-pass kill by Rian Zimbal tying the set at 21-all. Two Norton miscues gave St. Francis a 23-21 lead and triggered the final Bluejay time-out. A kill by Emma Johnson moved the advantage to 24-21. Norton reeled off four consecutive points to retake the lead. The run included two kills by Cox. An attack error by the Lady Jays moved the scoreboard to 25-all. Johnson's kill was then answered by a kill from junior Sarah David. After a SF attack error, Morrow drove an attack through a double-block for a 27-27 tie. Hauser, the tallest player on the floor, completed the set recording a kill and stuff-block for the Lady Jays. St. Francis lost set one to Norton 27-29.
Tessa Hauser opened set two with three kills in the first 4 volleys. A three-point SF run ending with an ace by Mia Morrow tied the set at 4-all. A kill by Rian Zimbal and a Norton attack error gave the Lady Indians a 2-point advantage, but it was quickly erased by kills from Norton's Addison Brooks and freshman Erika Miller. The next kill, by Cara Cox, tied the set at 7. Emma Johnson's dump-set moved the score to 8-9 but was soon answered by another kill by Sarah David. Another Johnson score on a dump-set and a kill by Morrow tied the set at 10-all. Hauser and Jordyn Faulkender exchanged kills, but Hauser followed with two more very aggressive spikes giving Norton an 11-13 advantage. A kill and an ace by Morrow beginning a SF run re-tied the set. Four additional SF points moved the score to 17-13. Two resulted from kills by Hannah Zimbal and Emma Johnson. Norton spent one of their time-outs along the way. The Lady Jays then received a kill from Cox and an ace from senior libero Tayli Hartwell to pull within one (17-16). Hannah Zimbal's stuff-block against Erika Miller returned the Lady Indian advantage to two (18-16) , but an exchange of miscues and stuff-block by David retied the set at 19-all. St. Francis used a time-out to gather themselves. Norton took a one-point lead on the ensuing volley after a dump-set by Avery Miller. The Indians responded very well, recording a 6-point run to close the set. In the run, Johnson scored on a well-placed dump-set and Kattie Wurm served and ace. St. Francis won set two 25-20.
Tessa Hauser opened set three in similar fashion as set two; recording three kills in the first 5 volleys. Back-to-back kills by Emma Johnson gave St. Francis the lead (6-5) and Johnson's next score (on a deep-tip) triggered a Norton time-out at 8-5. Returning to the floor, the Lady Bluejays scored five consecutive points to lead 8-10. The run featured an ace by Tayli Hartwell and a kill by Cara Cox. St. Francis took a time-out to stop the momentum and then scored on a dump-set by Ellee Krien. A joust at the net won by Johnson, moved the scoreboard to 10-11, but the Lady Indians missed their next serve. Soon, a five-point SF run returned the lead to the Lady Indians (15-13). This run was highlighted by two kills by Mia Morrow and a stuff by Hannah Zimbal. Norton trimmed the margin to one on a kill by Hauser, but after two excellent saves in the next volley by Johnson, Hannah ZImbal scored on a tip into the middle of the Lady Jays court. Norton retook the lead getting kills by Brooks and Cox (17-19). The Lady Indians responded with a 6-point run coming on a block by Johnson and several Norton attack errors to lead 23-20. The run ended on a missed service attempt; the third for the Lady Indians in the set. The teams traded points and eventually the Lady Indians earned the 25-23 win receiving a stuff-block by Johnson on the final point of the match.
Hoxie
After sitting out two matches and getting a light bite to eat, the Lady Indians faced Hoxie. Hoxie earned the first three points of the contest including a kill by junior Lauren Spillman and an ace by junior Baylee McKenna. A kill by Mia Morrow ended the short run. Trailing 1-4, St. Francis earned a three-point run on two Hoxie errors and an crunching spike by Morrow to tie the set. Hoxie regained the lead, but a 4-point SF run gave the Lady Indians a 9-6 advantage. The run featured a kill and ace by Emma Johnson and an off-the-block tip by Hannah Zimbal. Kills by junior Morgan Keith and McKenna narrowed the advantage to 10-9 before another kill by Johnson helped re-establish the 3-point lead (12-9). Capitalizing on kills by McKenna and Spillman, Hoxie again moved within one (13-12) before Morrow smacked another kill for the Lady Indians. A dump-set by Jordyn Faulkender led to a Hoxie passing error advancing the scoreboard to 15-13. Hoxie followed with a five-point run to take a 15-18 lead triggering a SF time-out. This run included kills by senior Macy Schamberger, McKenna (2), and junior Paiton Rogers. Two kills by Hannah Zimbal moved the score to 18-20. A stuff-block by Johnson against McKenna ignited a 4-point SF run giving the Lady Indians a 22-20 lead. Hoxie responded with a five-point run ending the set at 22-25. The run resulted from a Spillman kill, an ace by senior Addison Campbell, and three SF attack errors.
Hoxie began the second set with a 3 straight points; two of which came on aggressive kills by Macy Schamberger. The Lady Indians answered with a 4-point run featuring two kills by Mia Morrow and two aces by Karly Bandel. Two kills and a stuff by Hannah Zimbal and a kill by Emma Johnson helped off-set kills by Macy Schamberger and Laruen Spillman enroute to a 10-10 tie. The Lady Indians finally took the lead (12-10) on two attack errors by Hoxie. Hoxie followed with a 4-point run featuring a soft-tip by Spillman and an ace and thunderous kill by Baylee McKenna. St. Francis had seen enough and used their first time-out. Returning to action, Mia Morrow earned a through-the-block kill, but Hoxie followed with another 3-point run resulting from a Spillman kill and two aces by Addison Campbell extending the deficit to 13-17. St. Francis used their final time-out attempting to slow Hoxie's momentum. St. Francis followed with a 3-point run benefiting from a kill and ace by Morrow as well as an attack error by the opponent. The score was now 16-17, and Hoxie used a time-out. Three straight Hoxie points, two coming on kills by Schamberger and Rogers, increased the deficit to 16-20. Two more kills by Schamberger moved the margin to 17-22. Two Hoxie attack errors and a kill by Hannah Zimbal narrowed the margin to 20-22. A tip-kill by Rian Zimbal and a tip by Spillman that landed out-of-bounds narrowed the deficit to one (22-23). On the next volley, a Hoxie attack landed in the net appearing to tie the set. An inadvertent scoreboard horn sounded as the ball struck the net and a replay was ruled. Hoxie scored the final two points of the match on an off-the-net kill by McKenna and a SF attack error. St. Francis lost a close match to Hoxie 22-25.
Decatur Community
St. Francis received two stuff-blocks from Emma Johnson early in the Decatur Community (DC) match to lead 3-0. A couple DC attack errors and an ace by Karly Bandel moved the margin to 6-1. The fun ended on a strong spike by DC's 6' 1" senior Anna Carter which began a 4-point DC run including three SF errors. With the score tied at 7, St. Francis cruised through a 9-point run to take a 16-7 advantage. The explosion featured a joust won at the net by Jordyn Faulkender, two kills by Johnson, a kill by Mia Morrow, and stuff-block by Hannah Zimbal. This run also ended with a Carter kill. An exchange of action including three kills by DC's Alyssa Van Vleet (senior), kills by SF's Zimbal and Faulkender, as well as an ace by Morrow advanced the score to 22-12. The Lady Red Devils then earned an eight-point run narrowing the margin to 22-19. The action featured an over-pass kill by Amy Wentz (senior), a tip-kill by Carter, two aces by freshman Breyana Gehring, and an over-pass kill by Alana Raile. St. Francis called time-out to re-group, and Faulkender earned a kill on the next volley ending the run. Though the Lady Indians missed their next serve, Rian Zimbal earned a kill on the following volley. St. Francis defeated the Lady Red Devils 25-20 in set one.
A kill by Breyana Gehring, a tip-kill by Hannah Zimbal, and an ace by Mia Morrow helped move the score to 4-2 in set two. At that time, DC earned a 5-point run, all resulting from SF miscues, to lead 4-7. St. Francis took a time-out to change momentum, and followed with a 4-point run of their own to regain the lead 8-7. In the SF run, Zimbal added two kills. An over-pass kill by Alyssa Van Vleet tied the match at 8 and soon the Lady Devils led 9-13 by adding kills by Anna Carter and Van Vleet. St. Francis used their final time-out trailing 9-13. The next run, three points by SF ending with a deep-tip by Emma Johnson, returned the lead to the Lady Indians (16-15). The Lady Red Devils would lead twice more (16-17 & 17-18) but the SF earned a three-point run, including an ace by Ellee Krien and a crunching over-pass kill by Johnson, to lead 20-18. After a DC time-out, the run extended to 4 points on a DC net violation. Another 4-point Lady Indian run aided by two kills by Rian Zimbal closed the set at 25-19.
Rawlins County
After beginning the Rawlins County (RC) contest with a service error, the Lady Indians scored four consecutive points including an ace by Karly Bandel. An ace by Mia Morrow moved the score to 6-2. After a deep-tip score by Emma Johnson, the Lady Buffaloes trimmed the margin to two (7-5) on a stuff by senior Brea Lankas and a kill by senior Kristen Beckman. An over-set kill by Rian Zimbal and a stuff by Emma Johnson helped open the margin to five. Though sophomore Abby Singhetah earned a kill to prevent the SF run from growing larger, the Lady Indians followed with another 3-point run resulting from a kill by Rian Zimbal, an aggressive spike by Mia Morrow, and dig-kill by Alondra Gomez. RC used a time-out to slow the momentum at 13-6. Beckman earned a kill on the next volley, but the play was answered by a stuff-block by Johnson for the Lady Indians. Following a kill by Jordyn Faulkender, the Lady Buffs reeled off six consecutive points to trim the advantage to one (15-14). In the run, Lankas earned 4 kills. Kills by RC sophomore Sadie Sramek as well as Rian Zimbal and Johnson (2) helped move the score toward 22-18. The Lady Buffs then scored on four consecutive errors by the Lady Indians to tie the set at 22-all. A tip by Faulkender followed a kill by Singhateh returning the lead to SF (24-23). By this time, both teams had used one or more time-outs. St. Francis missed their next service attempt tying the score at 24-all. RC followed with a service error of their own. RC scored the final three points of the set to win 25-27. Lankas earned a kill on the final point.
A tip-kill by Emma Johnson opened the second set. Brea Lankas answered with a kill moments later. A back-row kill by Kristen Beckman gave RC a 2-3 advantage, but Mia Morrow tied the set with a kill for St. Francis on the ensuing volley. RC again took the lead on a couple SF attack errors, but the Lady Indians soon received on over-pass kill from Rian Zimbal and a back-row kill from Morrow to regain the advantage 6-5. The next run, 4 points in length, featured an ace by Beckman, a kill by Abby Singhateh, and a stuff-block by Beckman and increased the RC lead to 7-11. The Lady Indians soon recovered earning a stuff by Johnson, a kill by Hannah Zimbal, and three kills by Morrow to lead 13-12. The action caused an RC time-out. It was the Lady Buffs turn to make a run. Four points and two Lankas kills later, RC led 13-16. SF spent their last time-out and returned to the floor to earn an aggressive smash by Morrow. Hannah Zimbal sandwiched a kill between kills by Sadie Sramek and Beckman. Beckman's kill began another RC run that moved the scoreboard to 16-22 before the Lady Buffs missed a serve to stop the run. RC closed the match with another run of three points to win 18-25. Singhetah closed the match with a kill for RC.
In the junior varsity division of the Oberlin Invitational, St. Francis won one match during the competition and finished with a 1-3 record. Hoxie won the JV division winning all 4 matches. The results of the junior varsity division are listed below. The winning team of each match is denoted in bold print.
| Opponents | Results |
| Norton vs Rawlins County | 19-25; 25-14; 15-13 |
| St. Francis vs Decatur Community | 25-17; 19-25; 15-12 |
| Norton vs Hoxie | 23-25; 25-18; 8-15 |
| Decatur Community vs Rawlins County | 15-25; 22-25 |
| St. Francis vs Hoxie | 19-25; 21-25 |
| Decatur Community vs Norton | 19-25; 12-25 |
| Rawlins County vs Hoxie | 29-27; 21-25; 11-15 |
| Norton vs St. Francis | 25-19; 25-12 |
| Rawlins County vs St. Francis | 25-22; 25-19 |
| Decatur Community vs Hoxie | 26-28; 25-19; 9-15 |
The Lady Indians will play Greeley County in St. Francis on Monday, October 7.
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