Lady Cougars finish second at tourney
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
For the first time in several years, the Centre High School volleyball team advanced to the championship game at the Eisenhower League tournament.
Playing at Hope Saturday, they lost to Hope in the final match but finished in second place after being seeded fourth among eight teams.
In pool play, Centre defeated fifth-seeded Flint Hills of Manhattan and eighth-seeded St. Xavier of Manhattan in two games each.
After almost pulling off a win in the first game of the match against top-seeded Hope, the girls lost in two games, but the earlier wins were enough to send them to the semi-finals.
Perhaps the most exciting match-up of the day came against third-seeded Wakefield as the two teams vied for a chance to play in the championship.
The Lady Cougars had defeated Wakefield in three games earlier in the week in a final home triangular and were hoping to do it again.
In the first game, after a slow 1-5 start, Centre tied the game at 13-all and stayed close to the end. After a 25-25 tie, the Lady Bombers went ahead to win 27-25.
The second game was tight as the ball repeatedly passed from one team to the other. After a 20-20 tie, the Lady Cougars went ahead to win 25-22.
They were excited as they began the third game. After a 10-10 tie, Wakefield began to fall behind.
After the Lady Cougars forged an 18-11 lead, they began to smell victory. Wakefield's play became lackluster. Good front line play by Leann Pankratz and good serving by Samantha Alvarez, Josie Peterson, and Pankratz assisted in securing a 25-16 win.
Centre vs. Hope
For the second time that day, Centre faced arch-rival Hope.
In the first game of the championship match, which began at 4 p.m., the Lady Cougars seemed tired and unable to concentrate and put forth a strong effort. Strong serves and solid spikes by Hope were difficult to counter. Centre was defeated 25-13.
But the Lady Cougars weren't ready to give up. They played more aggressively in the second game, giving it their best effort.
They tied the game numerous times up to the 18-point mark, but couldn't hold on. They lost 21-15 but walked away after 11 games with a satisfying second-place finish.
Centre will enter the regional tournament Tuesday at Goessel with a record of 13-14.
