Centre girls lose three at Herington
Saturday was a tough day for the Centre Lady Cougars. They were defeated in three matches during pool play at the Herington invitational volleyball tournament.
Despite the losses, Couch Yvonne Burhoop said the girls played "very, very well." She noted, with rally scoring, one mistake can create a two-point swing.
Loss margins weren't excessive. The girls lost to 2A schools Chase County and Sacred Heart and also played 1A Hope.
In the match with Hope, Centre won a decisive 25-20 victory in the first game, with Megan Gutsch providing 17 out of 17 spike attempts and Jackie Klenda adding 13 of 16 attempts. Team serving was 100 percent.
The next two games were nip and tuck, with Hope winning by two points, 25-23 and 17-15, respectively.
Coach Burhoop was pleased with the way the girls played: "We passed, we hussled, we talked," she said.
Burhoop was especially pleased with the good passing, something which was deficient in the past. She said the last game could have gone either way.
The girls lost to Sacred Heart in two games, with scores of 20-25 and 18-25.
"Sacred Heart traditionally has a strong team," Burhoop said. "The girls didn't play badly, they just didn't get over the hump. I think there was a mental letdown."
Chase County had to play three games with Centre to win the third match. The Lady Cougars lost the first game 22-25, won the second 25-22, and lost the third 10-15.
"A few missed serves hurt us," the coach said, "but in comparison with other teams, we definitely served better."
Despite a record of five wins and 10 losses, Burhoop has high hopes for her team.
"If we continue to play like we did Saturday, we'll win upcoming matches in two games," she said.
They played St. Xavier Tuesday at Junction City.
STATISTICS
Centre vs. Hope
Scoring: Game 1 (25-20), Laura Klenda 8, Megan Gutsch 3. Game 2 (23-25), Gutsch 4, Raschelle Jirak 3, Jill Fenske 2, Brianne Stahlecker 2. Game 3 (15-17), Jackie Klenda 5, Fenske 3.
Rally points: 11, 11, 5.
Team serving: 25/25, 23/25, 14/16
Individual aces: L. Klenda 3, Jirak 2, Gutsch 1, Stahlecker 1.
Setting: Stahlecker 30/30, 7 for a kill; Jirak 28/30, 6 for a kill.
Spikes: L. Klenda 9/17, J. Klenda 13/16, Jirak 5/5, Fenske 21/24, Gutsch 17/17.
Kills/blocks: L. Klenda 4/8, J. Klenda 5/3, Jirak 2/1, Fenske 2/1, Gutsch 4/0.
Centre vs. Sacred Heart
Scoring: Game 1 (20-25), Fenske 7, Stahlecker 2. Game 2 (18-25), Stahlecker 3, J. Klenda 3, Alisha Luna 2, L. Klenda 2.
Rally points: 10, 8.
Team serving: 18/20, 19/19.
Setting: Stahlecker 16/17, 4 for a kill; Jirak 20/22, 4 for a kill.
Individual aces: Fenske 1.
Spikes: L. Klenda 15/19, Gutsch 10/13, Fenske 6/9, Klenda 7/9.
Kills/blocks: L. Klenda 9/5, Gutsch 1/0, Fenske 2/0, J. Klenda, 1/0.
Centre vs. Chase Co.
Scoring: Game 1 (22-25), Jirak 3, Gutsch 3, Stahlecker 3. Game 2 (25-22), Stahlecker 4, L. Klenda 2, J. Klenda 2. Game 3 (10-15), Fenske 2, Jirak 1, Stahlecker 1.
Rally points: 11, 10, 6.
Team serving: 22/23, 23/24, 9/11.
Setting: Stahlecker 22/23, 5 for a kill; Amanda Kleiber 22/23, 7 for a kill.
Individual aces: Gutsch 1, Kleiber 1.
Spikes: L. Klenda 16/22, J. Klenda 2/2, Alisha Barney 3/5, Fenske 20/26, Gutsch 7/10.
Kills/blocks: L. Klenda 11/5, J. Klenda 0/1, Barney 2/0, Fenske, 3/2.
