Staff writer
The first Wheat State League volleyball tournament was Saturday at Centre High School.
Because there are nine schools in the new league, the tournament began with a match between White City and Wakefield to determine the eighth seed. Wakefield won the match.
Centre was seeded fifth. The Lady Cougars failed to advance out of pool play after losing to Peabody-Burns and Goessel and defeating Wakefield.
Goessel had first seed and was defeated by Little River in the championship game. Peabody-Burns finished in third place.
Peabody-Burns
In the first game, Peabody-Burns got a 7-point lead on Centre, but the Lady Cougars caught up and tied it, 21-21, before losing, 22-25.
Centre had a good chance to win the second game, keeping a lead until the 17-point mark. The two teams tied at 19-19 before the Lady Cougars once again fell behind and lost 22-25.
Goessel
In the first game, Centre had a 13-9 lead on Goessel before the Bluebirds caught up, 16-16, and went on to win the game, 19-25.
The Lady Cougars seemed to lose their momentum in the second game. They garnered just 12 points in their 12-25 loss.
Wakefield
Centre ended league play on a positive note, defeating Wakefield, 25-11 and 25-12.
The Lady Cougars were 47-of-48 in serving, with 41 of their 50 total points scored as service points.
Senior Amanda Floyd served for a total of 16 points, including eight aces. She was followed by senior Allison Shields with seven points and four aces.
Sophomore Genesis Rudolph completed 13-of-14 setting attempts, seven resulting in kills. Senior Tori Marler was 19-of-22 including six kills.
Sophomore Ellie Miller and freshmen Cacey Simons and Bryanna Svoboda were perfect at the net, spiking the ball successfully on every attempt they made. Sophomore Anna Weber and Shields each had seven spikes and combined for five kills and three blocks.
The Lady Cougars ended the season with a record of 12-17.
“The season has been one of learning for many of the girls on the team,” Coach Yvonne Burhoop said. “At three rotations in our lineup, we have five freshmen and sophomores on the court with one senior. So, for that amount of youth, I think we have done OK.
“The physical ability is there. What we have to have is the mentality to be consistent. Looking back on where I thought we would be in the league, we are right on target.”
The team will play in substate competition Saturday at Centre.
White City triangular
Centre aced a triangular Oct. 12 at White City, defeating the home team and Hope.
It took three games to defeat White City, 25-20, 14-25, and 25-14. Leading scorers were Marler 12, Simons 8, and Floyd 6.
Shields led at the net, completing 17-of-20 spike attempts and delivering seven kills. Weber completed 16-of-19 spikes and six kills, and Svoboda had 10-of-14 spikes and three kills.
The junior varsity split two games, 25-27 and 25-20. Amy Makovec was leading scorer with 11 service points including three aces.
Hope
Centre defeated Hope, 25-12 and 25-18. Floyd led scoring with eight service points, followed by Shields with seven and Svoboda with five.
Six players completed spike attempts: Svoboda 8-of-10 and four kills, Weber 7-of-8 and two kills, Shields 7-of-8 and four kills, Simons 6-of-7 and one kill, Ellie Miller 5-of-6 and four kills, and Carrie Carlson 2-of-3.
The junior varsity split two games, 25-21 and 17-25. Makovec again led scoring, serving for 11 points including two aces.