MHS volleyball blanked at Centre tourney
Against a slate of three teams reminiscent of the old Cottonwood Valley League, the Marion Lady Warriors displayed streaks of strong play but failed to chalk up wins against Centre, Council Grove, and Herington at the Centre High School tournament this past Saturday.
The Lady Warriors took command early in their first game against Centre, racing out to a 15-7 lead. The Lady Cougars methodically battled back to tie the score at 20-20 and claimed the comeback win by a 25-21 margin.
In the second game, it was Marion's turn to play catch up as Centre built a 15-8 advantage. Marion rallied to pull within one at 20-19, but Centre went on a five point run to win the game 25-19 and claim the match win.
Council Grove, the eventual tourney champion, was next up for the Lady Warriors. The spirited Lady Braves dominated all aspects of the game as they pinned a 25-12 loss on a Marion squad obviously still smarting from the Centre loss.
The Lady Warriors surprised Council Grove with their tenacity in the second game, keeping the Lady Braves off balance through the middle portion of the contest as they maintained a slim lead up to 15-14. Council Grove reasserted itself to grab a 21-16 advantage, but the Marion squad continued to make things difficult for the Lady Braves before finally succumbing 25-21.
In the afternoon session, the Lady Warriors wasted no time in securing their first victory of the day, a smartly-played 25-13 drubbing of the Herington Lady Railers. In their most impressive performance of the tournament, the Lady Warriors took command early and never let up, sparking raucous celebrations among the Marion fans.
But the fans were stunned into silence as Herington bolted out to a 10-point bulge in the second game, 23-13. Marion resolutely fought back, scoring eight straight points to pull within two at 23-21, but the Lady Railers hung on for the hard-fought 25-22 win.
In the final game of the match, Marion led only once, 3-2, as Herington first built a 15-7 advantage and then buried the Lady Warriors with a 10-0 onslaught to win 25-7 and deny the Lady Warriors their first match victory of the season.
"It was a disappointing day," said Lady Warrior head coach LeAnn Blaesi, "but at the same time there were some definite highlights. When we are on we can compete with the best of teams."
Acknowledging the fact that Marion had rough spurts where they relinquished leads and allowed the opponents to go on scoring runs, Blaesi pointed to the mental game as a primary area in which the Lady Warriors can improve.
Still, Blaesi was encouraged by the progress her team showed. "Our record may not reflect how we played but we had some shining moments where we looked awesome and played well as a team."
Erin Carr led the Lady Warriors in scoring punch at the net with 17 kill shots, while Kayley Heerey was the team's most proficient blocker. Carr, Austin Percell, and Kristin Waner tied for most service aces and Kari Tajchman was Marion's most consistent server. Erin Richmond topped the charts in distributing the ball to her teammates in offensive sets.
The Lady Warriors are now entering one of the busiest portions of their schedule. Following a Tuesday night home tilt against Hesston, the Lady Warriors go on the road to Hesston Thursday to participate in tournament action that begins at 4:30 p.m. On Monday Marion will compete in tournament play at Wichita Trinity starting at 4 p.m. They wrap up a busy week hosting Hillsboro at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
