Scott City Volleyball Picks up a Pair of Wins

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–The first matches of the season aren’t usually going to be your prettiest matches. If it’s a win, then how well you play is irrelevant. Scott City wasn’t at its best in the first match of the season against Ness City to open up the quadrangular, as they rallied in the first and third sets for the victory 26-24, 21-25, 25-21. In the finale of the night against Dighton, the Lady Beavers played much better, and took down the Lady Hornets 25-21, 25-16.

Scott City trailed 3-0 in their first two sets against Ness City, who was a state qualifier in Class 2A in 2011. In set one, the Lady Beavers scored seven straight to take a 7-3 lead. That lead would eventually be 15-12, before the Lady Eagles rallied for six straight to take an 18-15 lead. Scott City would counter for six in a  row and lead 21-18. Ness City tied it up and eventually had set point at 24-23, only to see the Lady Beavers score the final three points to win 26-24.

The second set saw Ness City lead from wire-to-wire, jumping out to a 10-00 lead in what it seemed in a very short time. Scott City wouldn’t give up, as they chipped away slowly at the Lady Eagles’ lead. The closest the Lady Beavers could get was 19-17, and Ness City would close the set on a 6-4 run to win 25-21 to force a third and decisive set.

In the final set, Scott City and Ness City would go back and forth early and late. The Lady Beavers jumped out to a 4-1 lead, only to see the Lady Eagles rally to tie it. After a Scott City 8-7 lead, Ness City would lead for most of the final set, and built a 17-13 lead, forcing Scott City coach Jordan Shay to burn a timeout. The Lady Eagles would maintain a lead by a pair of points, but a 19-17 Ness City advantage turned into an 8-2 run by Scott City in the end, and the Beavers prevailed 25-21.

For the match, Bailey Nickel led Scott City with 13 kills unofficially. As a team, the Lady Beavers finished with 29, including three point blocks and nine aces. They also had nine service errors. Ness City was led by freshman Regan Stiawalt with eight kills and Joni Johnson had six aces, including four straight to begin the second set.

After about a three-hour wait, Scott City wrapped up the day with a match against Dighton. It seemed to be a different Lady Beaver team from their first game of the day, as they finished with 23 kills unofficially. Scott City never trailed in the whole match, as they started off 5-0 in the first set, and built up an eight-point lead at 23-15. Dighton would respond with six straight points to pull to within two, but a kill by Janessa Lowenthal gave the Lady Beavers a side out, and eventually scored the next point for the set victory.

Just as they started off the first set on a tear, the Lady Beavers would come out of the gates with an 11-1 start, and never looked back. Their lead was as big as 11 in the second set. The Lady Hornets tried to mount a big rally, but the closest they could get would be seven. Scott City’s attacking kept Dighton on their heels all night, and it proved to be too much for the Lady Hornets, as the Lady Beavers cruised to a 25-16 win in the second set to complete the sweep.

Kelly Wycoff collected eight kills unofficially, while Cailyn Chelemedos added seven for Scott City. The Lady Beavers had four block-points, eight aces, but eight service errors. Dighton, who doesn’t have a senior on their roster, was led by Kori Sanchez’s four service aces.

Scott City will have a week off, as they travel to Ulysses to face the Tigers Thursday, September 6.

Hill City Sweeps Dighton, Ness City; Dighton Defeats Ness City

The Hill City Lady Ringnecks came into Scott City Tuesday to face Dighton and Ness City. Those three teams matched up for the second straight year, because they were needing to fill up their schedules. Hill City wasted no time getting going, as they cruised to a 25-17 first set win over Dighton. The Lady Hornets would lead for most of the second set, but a late rally propelled the Lady Ringnecks to a 25-22 win.

Hill  City would turn around to face Ness City.The Lady Ringnecks built up big leads early on, and were never threatened by the Lady Eagles. It would end up a sweep for the team from the Mid Continent League 25-17, 25-9 over Ness City, a team that was mentioned in Class 2A in the KVCA Pre-Season Rankings.

Dighton and Ness City matched up in a battle of teams that went 1-2 in their respective state tournaments in 2011. Dighton qualified in Class 1A-Division II, while Ness City was in Class 2A. The Lady Hornets would bounce back from an earlier defeat from their first match against Hill City and sweep the Lady Eagles in two well-contested sets. Dighton pulled away in the first set 25-17, while it was closer with Ness City in the second set, and the Lady Hornets prevailed 25-20.