ARMA — Marmaton Valley High’s Wildcats and Crest High’s Lady Lancers competed in the Three Rivers League Tournament hosted by Northeast High in Arma Saturday.
The Wildcats and Lady Lancers were in the same pool at the league tournament. The Wildcats came out 2-2 while the Lady Lancers went 0-4. Neither team moved into the bracket play.
Jayhawk-Linn won the tournament title with a 25-21, 25-21 victory over St. Paul in the championship match. Uniontown beat Pleasanton 25-23, 25-18 in the third-place match.
“The girls worked hard and didn’t give up,” said Terra Kegler, MVHS head coach. “We were worn out by the last match of the day and it showed in our serving. We served well at the beginning of the day but at the end we were struggling some.”
Marmaton Valley opened the day with a 25-13, 25-19 win over Chetopa led by Kaitlin Ensminger and Emily Meiwes with six service points and four kills apiece. Kailey Boyd downed seven kills and served up four points. Tabitha Ford had 16 set assists and Kaysha Elmenhorst had 14 set assists.
The Wildcats lost to St. Paul in three sets, 24-26, 25-16, 25-22. Ensminger served for six points while Boyd, Meiwes and Kacie Shadden each had five service points. Ensminger downed seven kills while Boyd and Shadden had six kills apiece. Meiwes made three blocks at the net. Ford put up 30 set assists and Elmenhorst had 24 set assists.
Marmaton Valley defeated Crest 25-20, 25-18. Meiwes and Shadden each served for seven points and Ensminger had five points. Boyd racked up seven kills for the Cats and Meiwes and Shadden had four kills each. Ford had 27 assists.
Pleasanton beat Marmaton Valley 23-25, 25-22, 25-19. Boyd delivered nine kills and served up seven points. Ensminger had six kills and six points while Meiwes had six kills and three blocks. Shadden made eight kills and Ford had 22 assists.
“Kailey Boyd was strong at the net. We have some things we need to change and improve going into next week,” Kegler said. “Overall, I was happy with the way we played our first games of the season. It made me even more excited for our season.”
CREST lost to Pleasanton 25-23, 25-17 then to Chetopa 25-21, 25-3. The Lady Lancers dropped a 25-12, 25-15 decision to St. Paul.
“The girls are working hard for me and I appreciate it. As a first-year coach, I have a lot to learn on how to get them prepared,” said Abigail Hermreck, Lady Lancer head coach.
Brytton Strickler and Shandra Sedlak, both seniors, had 100 percent serving for the day. Emmalee Seabolt, a sophomore, led the Lady Lancers with six service aces. Emily Frank and Kurston Gilliland led the team in kills.
