Wildcats claim Paxton, Brady crowns

by Diane Stamm

Grant tribune-sentinel

With five wins in five days the Wallace volleyball team has improved to 16-2 on the season.

The Wildcats won the Paxton Tournament Sept. 20, beating Wauneta-Palisade (5-11) and handing Potter-Dix its first loss.

Wallace took down WP 25-19, 25-17 to open the night.

Four-point serving runs by Kendyl Flaming and Karlie Finley gave the Wildcats the space they needed to win the first set. In the second set, with Finley serving, Wallace broke open an 11-11 tie and ran away with the win.

“Last night the girls opened against Wauneta-Palisade, and we always expect them to play tough. The girls stayed focused and made the needed adjustments and came out with the win in two sets,” Wallace Head Coach Krystal Sauser said.

The Wildcats went to work from the service line in the championship match against Potter-Dix, which had only lost five sets up to that point in the season.

Trailing 6-7, Skyler Kuhlman served Wallace to a 12-7 lead. Potter-Dix closed the gap to one point, 17-16, but the Wildcats limited any Coyote runs and won the set 25-22. 

Wallace raced to a 13-3 lead in the second set and never looked back in the 25-15 win.

The Wildcats had 10 aces in the win. Individually, Flaming had 14 kills.

Sauser said it was exciting winning first place in the tough tournament.

“The girls again stayed focused and played well against a scrappy team. The girls didn’t get frustrated, and kept up with great defensive effort and smart offense,” Sauser said.

Brady Tournament

Wallace won the Brady Tournament Saturday, with wins over Maxwell (2-17), Sandhills/Thedford (6-8) and Twin Loup (11-6).

Sauser said came out to a slow start against Maxwell and Sandhills/Thedford, but were able to win both of those games. 

Wallace only let Maxwell score back-to-back points three times in the first set, 25-13 win. Flaming and Finley served 17 of Wallace’s points in a 25-12 second set win.

The Wildcats were tied at eight with Sandhills/Thedford in the first set of their match, but a eight-point run by the Knights left Wallace on the short end of the 18-25 score. The Wildcats bounced back in the second set, scoring the first five points and racing to a 25-18 win. Wallace trailed 10-12 in the third set before Finley and Kuhlman wrapped up the match, serving the Wildcats to a 10-1 run and 25-16 win.

Wallace swept Twin Loup in the finals, 25-14, 25-23.

“The girls dominated defensively along with our front row collectively getting 25 kills,” Sauser said.

The Wildcats’ biggest run was four points in the first set, but Twin Loup only held serve twice in the set. The second set stayed much closer. Tied at 12, Brooke Bryant served Wallace to a three-point lead. Bryant was at the service line late in the match, as well. Wallace trailed 21-23 until Bryant served four-straight points for the win.

The Wallace JV team hosted a triangular Sept. 19. Wallace lost to Hitchcock County 10-25, 12-25 then beat Paxton 25-16, 25-11.

Up next

The Wildcats had another chance to end a team’s undefeated season Tuesday when Maywood/Hayes Center, 14-0 and ranked first in Class D1, was in Wallace for a triangular that also featured Brady (6-10).

Sauser said her team was ready and looking forward to take on another undefeated team.

Friday Wallace will head to face RPAC and district foe WP.

The month of October will continue to be a challenge for Wallace. On the schedule is Paxton (13-3) twice, Garden County (13-6), Potter-Dix (16-1) before the start of the RPAC tournament that features MHC, Cambridge (14-1), Alma (14-5), Medicine Valley (10-3) and Southwest (13-4).