Sports editor
It wasn’t the start Saturday the Marion High School volleyball team was looking for, but the finish ended well.
After dropping its first two matches Saturday at the Mid-Central Activities Association pre-season tournament, the Warriors bounced back with a 2-1 record in bottom pool play.
As a team the Warriors finished ninth out of 12 teams.
Hillsboro defeated Haven in the championship match.
“I don’t feel like we were ready to play,” MHS head coach Jim Versch said. “For part of that, I blame myself.”
Versch said he should have been preaching more intensity during the pre-season.
However, MHS had a few strikes against it to start.
Six-foot, one-inch freshman Whitney Gordon, who had been practicing with the first team all pre-season, did not play with due to an illness.
Marion was playing its first match of the season, while other teams had played the previous Tuesday.
On top of that, there was some added pressure to win in the first match of the new gymnasium.
“It’s not an excuse, but there was some pressure,” Versch said.
After falling to Ellinwood and Hoisington in pool play, the Warriors were forced into the Marion Elementary School gymnasium for afternoon play.
In a round-robin format, MHS lost to Sterling in two games, and then defeated Halstead and Lyons in two games each, to start the season 2-3.
“The best thing was that we can come back and play,” Versch said of the afternoon success.
The highlight of the day was the final game and match for the Warriors.
Trailing 14-3, junior hitter Julia Zeiner served 11 straight points to tie the match. After a Lyons point, sophomore Kathy Goering, who earned herself a starting spot with her play Saturday, reeled off another 11 serves in a row to end the match.
“That was fun,” Versch said.
Goering, who was playing for Gordon, was impressive attacking the net.
“She stepped it up to another level,” Versch said. “It was a great surprise.”
Versch said it was good for the team knowing that nobody’s position is safe.
“It puts a little pressure on the other six,” Versch said.
Despite starting 0-3, the Warriors had some other highlights.
In match four against Halstead, junior Kayley Heerey had three kills, two aces, and two blocks in a 25-22 game-one victory, and Zeiner had four kills and three aces in a game-two victory by the same score.
Versch said the team that will play the rest of the season will not be indicative of the entire MCAA tournament.
“We couldn’t get it together Saturday, but we will,” he said. “This is still a young team, and we have a lot to do.”
With the early-season jitters out of the way, MHS played Tuesday at the Hillsboro triangular, but the matches were not finished before press time.
They will hit the court Saturday to play in the Centre Tournament.
The Warriors are matched up with Centre, Hope, and Little River in pool play.
“We’re looking forward to this one,” Versch said. “I see Berean Academy as a really strong team in this [tournament].”