CLASS 1A VOLLEYBALL REPORT – WEEKEND by Kerry Sherman

CLASS 1A VOLLEYBALL REPORT – WEEKEND

BY: KERRY SHERMAN

Friday has a loaded slate in Class 1A, with eight of the top-12 in the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index competing. Saturday adds three more.

FRIDAY

#1 MERINO (11-0) AT 2A HAXTUN (5-8)

Merino pushed its winning streak to 11 and remained unbeaten in the LPAA with a sweep of 2A Yuma on Tuesday. Jadelynn Powell and Jaylyn Lynch led the Lady Rams on the attack, recording 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Lynch added five total blocks and 15 digs. Delaney Piel led the back row with 21 digs. Riley Pope distributed 34 assists. After losing four of five, Haxtun got back into the win column on Tuesday with a sweep of Cheyenne Wells. Haxtun is 0-4 in the LPAA.

#2 FLEMING (12-1) VS #7 HI-PLAINS (10-2)

Fleming got a quality win on Thursday, sweeping #9 Otis by scores of 25-20/14/17. It was the eighth straight win for the Lady Wildcats. Cambria Seaman and Brianna Rueb both had 10 kills for Hi-Plains in a sweep of Genoa-Hugo/Karval last Saturday. Seaman also had five aces and a team-leading 10 digs. This is just the beginning of a tough weekend for the Lady Patriots, who also travel to #3 McClave on Saturday.

#5 EVANGEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (12-3) AT BELLEVIEW CHRISTIAN (3-10)

ECA had few problems in picking up a sweep of Miami-Yoder on Tuesday, as the Lady Eagles held the Lady Buffs to 16 or fewer points in each set. Ellie Wagner remained on a hot streak, putting away 24 kills. Wagner has recorded 99 kills in her last five matches. The Lady Bruins were swept by 2A Heritage Christian on Thursday, scoring a total of 30 points in the match. Faith Rosiere led with nine kills and 10 digs.

#6 CALICHE (9-1) VS #14 PRAIRIE (8-2)

Caliche dropped its first match of the season to 2A #1 Holyoke on Tuesday, with Alexis Breidenbach, Hailey Sommerfeld, Faye Lueck, and Ryann Svoboda each registering four kills. Breidenbach tacked on 13 digs. Prairie had dropped two in a row heading into Thursday’s clash with Briggsdale. Those losses were to the top team in 2A and #2 team in 1A.

#9 OTIS (10-5) VS BRIGGSDALE (2-9)

Otis’ sweep loss at Fleming on Thursday was the third straight for the Lady Bulldogs. The other losses were to McClave and Yuma. Otis had won eight in a row prior to this slide. Briggsdale had won two of three heading into Thursday’s NCL clash with Prairie.

#11 EADS (9-2) AT #18 CHERAW (9-5)

It’s been a full week since Eads pushed its winning streak to three by beating Walsh 3-0. Kara Wilson had a dozen kills, and Anna Wollert added eight. Peyton Eder and Emma Wollert had nine digs apiece, while Wilson and Bailey Sierra both added eight. Cheraw snapped a brief two-match losing streak with a sweep victory over 2A Crowley County on Thursday. Cheraw has won five of the last seven meetings with Eads, but the Lady Eagles have won the last two and own a 15-8 advantage in the MaxPreps era.

#12 PLATEAU VALLEY (12-1) AT 2A HAYDEN (3-10)

Plateau Valley picked up a big four-set win over 2A #16 West Grand last Friday. Four players had at least six kills in that win, led by freshman Ava Johnson with nine. Lili Taylor aided the cause with 13 digs and five aces. Hayden saw its skid reach three with losses last weekend to 2A Meeker and 2A Olathe, both in sweeps. Cydney Witherell and Ella Harris both tallied four kills in the latter of those matches, and Harris dealt four aces.

SATURDAY

#3 MCCLAVE (13-2) VS #7 HI-PLAINS

The Lady Cards responded to last weekend’s tough loss to 2A Holyoke by handing Granada its first loss in 10 outings. McClave earned the sweep, 25-21, 25-15, and 25-11. Avery Hemphill pounded down 15 kills, and Abrielle Gomez notched nine. Yesenia Almanza directed the attack with 25 assists, and Ashlynn Steinbrunn served five aces.

#8 GRANADA (12-2) AT #13 STRATTON (7-3)

After having its nine-match winning streak snapped by McClave on Tuesday, Granada got right back on track with a sweep of Springfield on Thursday. Camryn Coleman played an all-around solid match, racking up 18 kills, 11 digs, five aces, and three solo blocks. Kinsley Williams added 26 assists, 12 digs, and seven aces. Following a rough go at the Akron tournament, in which they lost their final two matches, the Lady Eagles also got back in the win column, remaining unbeaten in the Union Pacific with a tough four-set win over #16 Flagler on Tuesday. Sophie Isenbart hammered 27 kills, while Camory Wedel and Kinsleigh Brachtenbach added 11 and nine, respectively. Brachtenbach led with 26 digs, and Wedel recorded 27 assists.

#10 SARGENT (11-1) AT MOUNTAIN VALLEY (2-9)

The Lady Farmers haven’t played since sweeping Sierra Grande last Friday. They won that match 25-16, 25-11, and 25-13. It got them back in the win column following a tough five-set loss to 2A 22 Del Norte. Mountain Valley had lost three in a row going into Thursday’s contest with Sangre de Cristo. The most recent of those losses came in four sets to Sierra Grande last Saturday.