Warriors finish fourth
Sports reporter
Despite a narrow loss in the semifinal match-up of the Centre tournament, the Marion High School volleyball team finished a respectable fourth place Saturday.
After winning their first two matches of pool play, the Warriors guaranteed themselves a ticket to the semifinal round.
Marion opened against Council Grove, and it looked bad. The Braves defeated the Warriors 25-15. It was far from over as Marion took the next game 25-13, to force a third game. Toni Gordon led Marion with six kills.
Marion led 20-15 in the final game, but went cold as Council Grove jumped ahead 23-21. A kill by Jill Hannaford tied the match at 23, and Marion never looked back. After a long rally, Amber Richmond smashed the match-winning kill to give Marion a 26-24 victory.
The Warriors proved to be far too much for Herington to handle in the second round. Marion won 2-0, defeating Herington 25-13, and 25-20.
Megan Hudson had four kills in the first game, and Gordon recorded a left-handed kill.
The next match determined what seed Marion would be in the semifinal round, matching them up with number one seed Little River.
It looked bleak as Little River jumped ahead 8-1. But Hudson led a Warrior comeback with three kills during a 16-5 run, to give Marion a 17-13 lead. However, the Warriors wouldn't record another point. Little River came out of a time-out and ran off 12 straight points to win 25-17.
Marion had another shot, and game two was eerily similar to game one. Little River jumped ahead early with a 7-1 lead as Marion fought back and tied the match at 10.
Little River once again showed why it was seeded number one and never relinquished the lead. Marion lost 25-21, and would be pool A's number two seed.
That meant a match-up with pool B number one seed Hope.
It looked like the Warriors were burned out and would bow down quick as they lost game one, 25-17. They quickly proved that to be false, winning convincingly in game two, 25-15. Marion used a balanced attack with Gordon, Richmond, and Leann Thomas contributing big in the victory.
The next game proved to be the most exciting of the day. The teams traded points early, and were tied at 12. Marion then used a little run to take a 20-15 lead. It was obvious both teams were tired from playing three matches, but they kept battling as the game was tied at 25.
After a Hope hitting error, Marion looked poised to head into the championship round for a re-match with Little River. But a service error tied it at 26, and Little River eventually went on to win 29-27. Hudson ended the match with five kills. Marion then lost to Burtton, 2-0 in the consolation match.
Richmond was named to the All-Tournament Team for her performance.
The Warriors played Halstead in a duel Tuesday night. Results will be in next weeks' paper.
