By William / http://www.mcpherson-county-ks.com

LINDSBORG – It was a night of celebration for the Smoky Valley volleyball team as they concluded their home schedule of 2021 with a straight set sweep of both Pratt and Hesston while celebrating senior night, plus they gave Lady Viking head coach Sharlene Ramsey her 100th career victory leading the currently top ranked team in Class 3A.

Finishing out the home part of their schedule for 2021, the Lady Vikings dominated their match with Pratt, taking both sets in convincing fashion, 25-12, 25-14. They then followed that up with a little bit more of a test from Hesston in the second match while still scoring a straight set victory, 25-20, 25-18.

“We concluded league play tonight upon the finish of the Hesston game, so we posted a league record of 8-1,” noted Coach Ramsey. “In the Hesston match, we posted 27 kills on 62 attempts while against Pratt we had 24 kills on 46 attempts. The Hesston game was such a battle of attacks, and I thought our girls really hustled and played to hit the gaps. We struggled some to block during both matches which is usually one of our biggest weapons so we will need to work on that during practice.”

Among the team leaders for the Lady Vikings were Abby Rose who celebrated her senior night by scoring 17-of-19 on serves with 4 aces while recording 18 kills and making 15 digs.

Two other seniors who celebrate with a strong performance were Avery Vanderwege with a perfect 13-of-13 on serves with 1 ace and Madi Tolle who scored 20-of-21 on serves with 2 aces while recording 13 kills. Adrian Hazelwood led the offense with 40 assists.

A celebration was also made for the six seniors who have helped build the Lady Viking spiker program to where they are now as the top-ranked team in Class 3A.

Seniors being recognized were Madi Tolle, Abby Rose, Avery Vanderwege, Aubrey Boldra, Laini Haigh and Chloe Patrick.

Coach Ramsey concluded her post-match reflections by acknowledging the seniors, saying, “We celebrated our seniors tonight who are six highly incredible young ladies. Avery (Vanderwege), Abby (Rose), Aubrey (Boldra), Chloe (Patrick), Laini (Haigh), and Madi (Tolle) have committed four years to our program and have made a lasting mark on it. Much of our success is a result of these seniors working hard during the off season with weights, club teams, and summer workouts and camps. We are definitely going to miss them next year and will have some very big shoes to fill.”

The Smoky Valley Lady Viking junior varsity team also defeated both Pratt and Hesston.

Now entering the final week of the regular 2021 season, the Lady Vikings will travel to Abilene on Saturday for the Abilene Invitational that will include Ellsworth, Buhler, and Abilene in their pool while Salina Central, Topeka High, Royal Valley and Rossville will be in the other pool. First matches begin at 9:00 a.m.

LADY VIKING INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS =

Madi Tolle = scored 20/21 on serves with 2 aces, made 6 digs, recorded 13 kills, and has 2 solo and 1 assisted block.

Abby Rose = scored 17/19 on serves with 4 aces, recorded 18 kills, made 3 solo and 3 assisted blocks, made 15 digs, and had 4 assists.

Aubrey Boldra = scored 5/6 on serves, made 1 assisted block, recorded 3 kills, and made 12 digs.

Avery Vanderwege = scored 13/13 on serves with 1 ace, made 2 digs.

Laini Haigh = scored 5/5 on serves.

Chloe Patrick = made 2 digs.

Adrian Hazelwood = scored 12/14 on serves with 2 aces, made 6 digs, recorded 4 kills, made 1 assisted block, and had 40 assists.

Hope Duncan = scored 12/13 on serves with 2 aces, recorded 7 kills, and made 10 digs.

Kade Blanchat = made 2 digs, recorded 6 kills, and made 3 assisted blocks.

Maliya Koster = made 2 digs.

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