Cedar volleyball girls are busy on the court
WAKEFIELD — Things went a little sideways for the Cedar Catholic volleyball team a week ago.
The Lady Trojans indulged in a full schedule and went 2-4 overall to enter this week with a 4-8 record.
They fell to Crofton 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-21) then in the Wakefield Tournament defeated Cedar Bluffs 2-0 (25-16, 25-20) before dropping decisions to Pierce (2-0, 25-16, 25- 16), BRLD (2-0, 25-20, 25-20) and Ponca (2-0, 25-20, 25-16) before getting past Cedar Bluffs again (2-1, 25-15, 20-25, 25-15).
“This week, we used a few different lineups, and lots of different players saw playing time as we continue to work,” Cedar head coach Denae Buss said. “The girls are really working hard through our tough schedule. It really is good to see how much they support each other throughout the highs and lows.
“The girls continue to support each other even if they are not the ones on the floor or their roles change. Then they continue to come to practice and work hard to make the team better.”
Against Crofton, Katy Jones (five kills) and Laney Kathol (four kills, six assists) led the way. Kathol had seven kills and five blocks in the first win against Cedar Bluffs, while Meredith McGregor blasted four aces.
Kathol had six kills against BRLD, and Lexi Eickhoff had six total blocks as Katy Jones picked up 12 digs.
Kathol added six kills against Ponca and another seven kills in the rematch with Cedar Bluffs with Faith Christensen and Laura Bernecker contributing five apiece.
Grace Wortmann blasted nine aces in the weekend-ending win.
Kathol said the Lady Trojans need to work on serve-receive as its one of the errors they struggle with the most.
“For me, I don’t do a lot of serve-receive passing, but from the backrow point of view, I would say it’s more about straight instinct,” Kathol said. “When someone hits the ball, you don’t have much time to think about it. But serve-receive, you have to sit on that backline, and you are stressed about it a lot more and makes you, maybe, a little bit nervous. Once you get one shanked pass it adds more stress, and you then get three in a row after that.
“When I practice serving, I usually try to aim for right in the middle of the middle back row and either the left or right side. A lot of teams, with that communication, it’s the hardest part for them to get those balls up I would guess.”
Kathol acknowledges the team is improving, but a lot more work has to be done.
“Then it will finally come together,” Kathol said. “I would think it’s just about more reps on everything. Mentally, I think a lot of times we get ourselves in the hole and being able to pull ourselves out of those quicker would help. If we could fix that, it would help us a lot.”
As the season inches on, conference matches will get more busy and more vital for the postseason.
“Our conference teams are really looking strong this year, which is great for us to continue improving and reach our goals by the end of the season,” Buss said. “All the teams are well-rounded, it is going to come down to consistency, taking care of the ball, and the mental game.”
Cedar traveled to Norfolk Catholic Tuesday night and to the Stanton Tournament on Saturday. Cedar Catholic 16 16 Pierce 25 25
KILLS Cedar - Laney Kathol, 4; Lexi Eickhoff, 3; Grace Wortmann, 2; Lauren Bernecker, 2; Katy Jones, 2.
ACE SERVES Cedar - Laney Kathol, 1; Katy Jones, 1; Meredith McGregor, 1; Annika Kuehn, 1.
BLOCKS Cedar - Laney Kathol, 3; Jozie Becker, 3; Lexie Eickhoff, 1; Lauren Bernecker, 1.
SET ASSISTS Cedar - Meredith McGregor, 6; Laney Kathol, 3.
DIGS
Cedar - Grace Wortmann, 3; Katy Jones, 2; Cady Uttecht, 3; Annika Kuehn, 2.
Cedar Catholic 20 20
BRLD 25 25
KILLS Cedar - Laney Kathol, 6; Lexi Eickhoff, 3; Faith Christensen, 2; Meredith McGregor, 2; Katy Jones, 2.
ACE SERVES Cedar - Laney Kathol, 3; Cady Uttecht, 1; Annika Kuehn, 1.
BLOCKS Cedar - Lexie Eickhoff, 6; Laney Kathol, 2; Cady Uttecht, 1; Katy Jones, 1; Faith Christensen,1; Jozie Becker, 1; Meredith McGregor, 1.
SET ASSISTS Cedar - Cady Uttecht, 7; Meredith McGregor, 4; Laney Kathol, 1; Annika Kuehn, 1.
DIGS
Cedar - Katy Jones, 12; Cady Uttecht, 9; Meredith McGregor, 6; Annika Kuehn, 4; Grace Wortmann, 3; Faith Christenen, 2; Laney Kathol, 1.
Cedar Catholic 20 16
Ponca 25 25
KILLS Cedar - Laney Kathol, 6; Faith Christensen, 2; Katy Jones, 1; Lexi Eickhoff, 1; Lauren Bernecker, 1.
ACE SERVES Cedar - Annika Kuehn, 2; Meredith McGregor, 2; Oliva Hamilton, 1.
BLOCKS Cedar - Lauren Bernecker, 3; Lexie Eickhoff, 2; Jozie Becker, 1; Katie Jones, 1; Laney Kathol, 1.
SET ASSISTS Cedar - Cady Uttecht, 7; Meredith McGregor, 4.
DIGS Cedar - Cady Uttecht, 7; Annika Kuehn, 5; Grace Wortmann, 4; Katy Jones, 3; Laney Kathol, 2; Faith Christensen, 2; Meredith MdGregor, 1.
Cedar Catholic 20 15 21
Crofton 25 25 25
KILLS Cedar - Katy Jones, 5; Laney Kathol, 4; Lexi Eickhoff, 3; Grace Wortmann, 2; Jozie Becker, 2; Meredith McGregor, 2; Lauren Bernecker, 2.
ACE SERVES Cedar - Laney Kathol, 6; Lauren Bernecker, 3; Oliva Hamilton, 2; Cady Uttecht, 1.
BLOCKS Cedar - Lexie Eickhoff, 2; Laney Kathol, 1; Jozie Becker, 1.
SET ASSISTS Cedar - Cady Uttecht, 7; Meredith McGregor, 6; Olivia Hamilton, 2.
DIGS Cedar - Grace Wortmann, 5; Katy Jones, 5; Cady Uttecht, 4; Annika Kuehn, 4; Jordynn Steffen, 3; Laney Kathol, 2; Jozie Becker, 1l Lexie Eickhoff, 1.
Cedar Catholic 25 25
Cedar Bluffs 16 20
KILLS
Cedar - Laney Kathol, 7; Grace Wortmann,
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