Whiteoak wins in 3 games over Ripley
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — It took three games of very balanced volleyball for the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats to win their fourth match of the season Tuesday, defeating the visiting Ripley Lady Blue Jays.
As for the scores of the Lady 'Cats in the sweep of RHS, they won at 25-19, 25-13 and 25-16. The Southern Hills Athletic Conference match puts the Lady 'Cats at 4-3 overall this season.
In the SHAC victory, the Lady 'Cats were led by senior Emma Wardlow with 10 kills, along with adding five aces to her totals. Sophomore Hannah Maynard totaled six aces, and leading Whiteoak with seven aces on the night was junior MaKayla Risner.
The Lady 'Cats were also led in serves received by junior Lexi Jones with 12.
"Coming back from the fair was hard," WHS head coach Katie Pollard said. "Practice Monday wasn't the greatest, a little iffy, but this was a good match to come back to.
"Running a 5-1 look, with five attackers (four main attackers), it has been different for the girls, but they've really picked up on it well. I'm pleased with how they played (Tuesday) since we didn't have a week of games or practice."
In the first of three games played at WHS in the SHAC match, it was tied at 8-8 and later at 10-10, but it was Ripley who built a 12-10 advantage, until Risner tied the score at 12. That was followed with an ace from Risner, and later a big spike by Wardlow pushed the Lady 'Cats in front at 15-12.
Later in the first game, Maynard put WHS ahead 17-13, and with an ace, by a 19-13 score. The Lady Blue Jays scored four consecutive points for a 19-17 deficit, but Wardlow was clutch again, this time with another big hit to give the hosts a 20-17 advantage.
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As the opening game drew closer to an end, Whiteoak senior Morgan Knoblauch, Wardlow and Jones all scored points en route to the game one win. The first game ended with a big spike by Wardlow for the 25th point.
In game two, the Lady Blue Jays led by an 8-3 score at one point, but the home team stayed calm and battled back with four consecutive points, eventually going on a 9-1 run to overtake the lead at 11-9. In that scoring sequence there was an ace by junior Rylee Ruble and a spike by Jones.
As the match continued, Risner and Knoblach added to the lead of the Lady 'Cats, which amounted to a lead of 15-11.
Eventually, WHS built a lead of 18-11, including a leaping point at the net from Wardlow and an ace by Risner. To end the second game, the Lady 'Cats scored five consecutive points to seal the 25-13 game two win, with serves by Wardlow.
Game three was tied just once at 2-2, and from there, the Lady 'Cats never trailed, with Wardlow, Maynard, Knoblauch and Kayla Smallwood all contributing points. Smallwood had an ace to make it a score of 12-8, and later Maynard had clutch play at the net for a 20-12 WHS advantage.
In the final moments of game three and the match, Maynard had two points via serves, and the game-winning point came when the Lady Blue Jays knocked the ball out of play for the final game three score of 25-16.
"We lost to Peebles earlier in conference play, so to get this win is big for us," Pollard said. "Everybody was moving and talking, so I was pleased to see how verbal and focused they were.
"They played hard and attacked the ball the way I wanted them to. We've come a long way since the summer, come a long way learning the 5-1, and they'll continue to improve as the season continues."
As for the scores of the Lady 'Cats in the sweep of RHS, they won at 25-19, 25-13 and 25-16. The Southern Hills Athletic Conference match puts the Lady 'Cats at 4-3 overall this season.
In the SHAC victory, the Lady 'Cats were led by senior Emma Wardlow with 10 kills, along with adding five aces to her totals. Sophomore Hannah Maynard totaled six aces, and leading Whiteoak with seven aces on the night was junior MaKayla Risner.
The Lady 'Cats were also led in serves received by junior Lexi Jones with 12.
"Coming back from the fair was hard," WHS head coach Katie Pollard said. "Practice Monday wasn't the greatest, a little iffy, but this was a good match to come back to.
"Running a 5-1 look, with five attackers (four main attackers), it has been different for the girls, but they've really picked up on it well. I'm pleased with how they played (Tuesday) since we didn't have a week of games or practice."
In the first of three games played at WHS in the SHAC match, it was tied at 8-8 and later at 10-10, but it was Ripley who built a 12-10 advantage, until Risner tied the score at 12. That was followed with an ace from Risner, and later a big spike by Wardlow pushed the Lady 'Cats in front at 15-12.
Later in the first game, Maynard put WHS ahead 17-13, and with an ace, by a 19-13 score. The Lady Blue Jays scored four consecutive points for a 19-17 deficit, but Wardlow was clutch again, this time with another big hit to give the hosts a 20-17 advantage.
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As the opening game drew closer to an end, Whiteoak senior Morgan Knoblauch, Wardlow and Jones all scored points en route to the game one win. The first game ended with a big spike by Wardlow for the 25th point.
In game two, the Lady Blue Jays led by an 8-3 score at one point, but the home team stayed calm and battled back with four consecutive points, eventually going on a 9-1 run to overtake the lead at 11-9. In that scoring sequence there was an ace by junior Rylee Ruble and a spike by Jones.
As the match continued, Risner and Knoblach added to the lead of the Lady 'Cats, which amounted to a lead of 15-11.
Eventually, WHS built a lead of 18-11, including a leaping point at the net from Wardlow and an ace by Risner. To end the second game, the Lady 'Cats scored five consecutive points to seal the 25-13 game two win, with serves by Wardlow.
Game three was tied just once at 2-2, and from there, the Lady 'Cats never trailed, with Wardlow, Maynard, Knoblauch and Kayla Smallwood all contributing points. Smallwood had an ace to make it a score of 12-8, and later Maynard had clutch play at the net for a 20-12 WHS advantage.
In the final moments of game three and the match, Maynard had two points via serves, and the game-winning point came when the Lady Blue Jays knocked the ball out of play for the final game three score of 25-16.
"We lost to Peebles earlier in conference play, so to get this win is big for us," Pollard said. "Everybody was moving and talking, so I was pleased to see how verbal and focused they were.
"They played hard and attacked the ball the way I wanted them to. We've come a long way since the summer, come a long way learning the 5-1, and they'll continue to improve as the season continues."