Osawatomie’s Taylor Baker gets in position to receive the ball and pass it to a teammate Tuesday at Wellsville. (Photo by David Wolman)
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Jayhawk-Linn loses ground in league title quest
Wellsville defeats Jayhawks in two games to take hold of driver’s seat
By David Wolman, davidwolman@miconews.com
WELLSVILLE — Jayhawk-Linn and Wellsville entered Tuesday’s triangular in Wellsville involved in a tight race in the Pioneer League. Wellsville had not lost a league match, while Jayhawk-Linn had one loss.
Jayhawk-Linn coach Christa Holt hopes her team can rebound in next week’s rematch against Wellsville after suffering a 21-25 and 12-25 loss to open Tuesday’s triangular.
A fired-up Jayhawk-Linn team played with a high intensity in the first game.
Chelsea Beckman recorded four kills, as part of a 10-3 run by the Jayhawks, to help them get out to a 14-7 lead. A hitting error by Wellsvile then forced Eagles coach Eric Evans into calling a timeout.
“We were pumped to play the first game against Wellsville,” Holt said. “We were pretty intense in the first part of that game, and that’s exactly how we wanted it. Then as we often do, we slowly started to unravel, and we fell apart in the last game of the match.”
Wellsville’s power-hitting game started to take over. Gradually, the Eagles cut into the Jayhawks’ lead, until a cross-court kill by a Wellsville player gave the Eagles their first lead of the game, 20-19.
Wellsville never trailed the remainder of the match. The Eagles jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the second game on a kill. Taylor Dawson swatted a kill in the middle of Wellsville’s defense to cut the Eagles’ lead to 15-10, but a palm violation on the next point halted any momentum the Jayhawks had. Wellsville went on to score 10 of the game’s final 12 points.
“Wellsville is a very scrappy team and the more we let them hit, the more confidence they had,” Holt said. “We just couldn’t get any offense going.”
Holt felt that her team was due for a loss.
“We were ready for a down game,” Holt said. “We played really well Saturday and were due for a match where we didn’t jive very well. I don’t like to lose, but it’s nice to know that we will see them again next week, and again at our substate tournament.”
Jayhawk-Linn plays Wellsville next Tuesday in Wellsville and Oct. 25 in their Class 3A substate tournament at Central Heights.
Between matches against Wellsville and Osawatomie, Holt sat her team down and attempted to rekindle the fire they had in the first game against Wellsville.
“We talked about losing and how we have to move on,” Holt said. “It’s pretty easy for this team to dwell on losses and get down. I told them that losing to a better team is okay, but not falling apart like we did.”
Her players responded.
Behind a strong effort from their front-row players, the Jayhawks easily defeated Osawatomie in the first game 25-9. Osawatomie matched the intensity level of Jayhawk-Linn in the second game. A kill by Brianna Crain gave the Trojans a 15-11 lead, but mistakes by Osawatomie allowed Jayhawk-Linn to get back in the game. Cassie Rockers recorded her only ace on the night for a 17-15 Jayhawks’ lead. Jayhawk-Linn went on to complete the sweep of Osawatomie with a 25-21 win.
Taylor Dawson led Jayhawk-Linn (22-5) with 11 kills and three blocks. Rockers and Beckman each had nine kills.
Osawatomie played two close games against Wellsville to close out the evening. Both times, the Eagles were able to take advantage of mistakes by Osawatomie to pull away late.
Katie Newport landed a kill in the middle of Wellsville’s defense for an 18-17 lead in the second game, but a hitting error on the next point allowed Wellsville to gain control. The Eagles went on to sweep the Trojans (25-17 and 25-21).
Haley Madden led the Trojans with nine blocks. Crain had six kills and two blocks. Kortney Bailey dished out 18 assists.
Osawatomie swept Jayhawk-Linn (25-12 and 25-13) and Wellsville (26-24 and 25-10) in junior varsity action.
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Jayhawk-Linn coach Christa Holt hopes her team can rebound in next week’s rematch against Wellsville after suffering a 21-25 and 12-25 loss to open Tuesday’s triangular.
A fired-up Jayhawk-Linn team played with a high intensity in the first game.
Chelsea Beckman recorded four kills, as part of a 10-3 run by the Jayhawks, to help them get out to a 14-7 lead. A hitting error by Wellsvile then forced Eagles coach Eric Evans into calling a timeout.
“We were pumped to play the first game against Wellsville,” Holt said. “We were pretty intense in the first part of that game, and that’s exactly how we wanted it. Then as we often do, we slowly started to unravel, and we fell apart in the last game of the match.”
Wellsville’s power-hitting game started to take over. Gradually, the Eagles cut into the Jayhawks’ lead, until a cross-court kill by a Wellsville player gave the Eagles their first lead of the game, 20-19.
Wellsville never trailed the remainder of the match. The Eagles jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the second game on a kill. Taylor Dawson swatted a kill in the middle of Wellsville’s defense to cut the Eagles’ lead to 15-10, but a palm violation on the next point halted any momentum the Jayhawks had. Wellsville went on to score 10 of the game’s final 12 points.
“Wellsville is a very scrappy team and the more we let them hit, the more confidence they had,” Holt said. “We just couldn’t get any offense going.”
Holt felt that her team was due for a loss.
“We were ready for a down game,” Holt said. “We played really well Saturday and were due for a match where we didn’t jive very well. I don’t like to lose, but it’s nice to know that we will see them again next week, and again at our substate tournament.”
Jayhawk-Linn plays Wellsville next Tuesday in Wellsville and Oct. 25 in their Class 3A substate tournament at Central Heights.
Between matches against Wellsville and Osawatomie, Holt sat her team down and attempted to rekindle the fire they had in the first game against Wellsville.
“We talked about losing and how we have to move on,” Holt said. “It’s pretty easy for this team to dwell on losses and get down. I told them that losing to a better team is okay, but not falling apart like we did.”
Her players responded.
Behind a strong effort from their front-row players, the Jayhawks easily defeated Osawatomie in the first game 25-9. Osawatomie matched the intensity level of Jayhawk-Linn in the second game. A kill by Brianna Crain gave the Trojans a 15-11 lead, but mistakes by Osawatomie allowed Jayhawk-Linn to get back in the game. Cassie Rockers recorded her only ace on the night for a 17-15 Jayhawks’ lead. Jayhawk-Linn went on to complete the sweep of Osawatomie with a 25-21 win.
Taylor Dawson led Jayhawk-Linn (22-5) with 11 kills and three blocks. Rockers and Beckman each had nine kills.
Osawatomie played two close games against Wellsville to close out the evening. Both times, the Eagles were able to take advantage of mistakes by Osawatomie to pull away late.
Katie Newport landed a kill in the middle of Wellsville’s defense for an 18-17 lead in the second game, but a hitting error on the next point allowed Wellsville to gain control. The Eagles went on to sweep the Trojans (25-17 and 25-21).
Haley Madden led the Trojans with nine blocks. Crain had six kills and two blocks. Kortney Bailey dished out 18 assists.
Osawatomie swept Jayhawk-Linn (25-12 and 25-13) and Wellsville (26-24 and 25-10) in junior varsity action.