On Friday, Sept. 13 the Kitty Kats hosted the Louise Hornets and defeated them in four sets, 25-21, 2125, 25-13, 25-20. The victory comes after getting redemption against the Runge Yellowjackets earlier in the week, 25-23, 25-17, 25-13.
“We are working on controlling our own tempo and controlling our side of the ball, emphasizing reading and reacting to the ball and making good decisions offensively,” Head Coach Ashtyn Henkes said.
The first two sets against the Hornets were basically a back and forth battle with neither team dominating over the other. However, during the third set the Kitty Kats found their rhythm, putting together a commanding performance against their opponent. It started with a long rally that ended in Yorktown’s favor when the Louise outside hitter sailed the ball out of bounds. During the volley the opposing outside had two big swings and the middle tipped but backrow players Nina Villarreal and Palyn Koopmann refused to let the ball contact the ground. With Malayshia Thomas serving, the Kitty Kats strung together a run. Thomas aced point five. Louise took possession trailing 6-1 when they rallied back into the set. A hard hit by Sydnie Krueger regained control for Yorktown, 7-4.
Behind 16-8 the Hornets were forced into calling a timeout. Thomas aced, scoring point 14 and aced again after the timeout. Claire Person scored point 19 with a kill from the outside hitter position, bringing Krueger to the service line. With the score 21-12, Braleigh Dodds aced and continued serving until 24-13. A backrow attack by the libero, Villarreal, would win the set, 25-13.
In set four, the Kitty Kats jumped off to an 8-1 lead. With the score at 13-4 the Louise squad pieced together a few runs bringing the score closer, 16-12. Henkes’ motioned for a timeout and the Kitty Kats took to the floor refocused. Yorktown pulled ahead 21-14 forcing Louise to use their final timeout. Gracie Stehling would have a hard hit out of the middle for game point but a defensive opponent made a diving play to prevent the ball from landing on the ground. The rally and game ended when Person killed from the outside position and the ball landed in the center of the court, 25-20.
The Kitty Kats have an over 13-10 record and will be back in action Tuesday, Sept. 17 in Nixon against the Lady Mustangs at 6:00 p.m and at home on Friday, Sept. 20 against the Ganado Maidens at 4:30 p.m. This next week is their final week of preseason games before district play gets underway.
