By Staff
LINDSBORG – While the Smoky Valley volleyball team has teetered on being in the top ten rankings for Class 3A this fall and went 2-2 in their past four matches, it is three of the team members that are rocking the league.
Juniors Adrian Hazelwood and Hope Duncan along with sophomore Katja Blanchat are all listed at the top or in the top three of the Central Kansas League stats for digs, blocks, assists and kills.
Hazelwood is the top Lady Viking as she not only leads the lead in assists with 423, the number of assists she has also placed her third in Class 3A and fourth overall of all class divisions in the state according to maxpreps.com.
Duncan currently is top in the CKL in two categories, digs where she has made 184 and kills where she has recorded 196.
Blanchat leads the league in blocks with 42 which also puts her third in Class 3A. Blanchat is currently third in the league for making digs with 144 and her 180 kills are second only to teammate Hope Duncan.
As for the latest outings for the team, on Thursday, September 15 the Lady Vikings went to Ellinwood for a triangular that included Haven.
Smoky Valley took down Haven to start the evening, winning in straight sets 25-21, 25-13 as Adrian Hazelwood dished out 18 assists and made eight digs while Katja Blanchat recorded 10 kills and made seven digs.
Taking on the number three team in Class 2A Ellinwood in the nightcap, the Lady Vikings lost in straight sets 21-25, 15-25. Hazelwood dished out another 14 assists while Hope Duncan recorded eight kills and Blanchat made six digs.
On Tuesday, Smoky Valley was on the road again, this time to visit Cheney, currently the fourth-ranked team in Class 3A along with Hoisington.
The Lady Vikings beat Hoisington in straight sets (25-21, 25-18) to begin the evening and then pushed Cheney to three sets before taking a loss (11-25, 25-20, 20-25).
“The Lady Vikings played well at Cheney,” noted head coach Doug Schneider. “We got off to a rough start in the second match with Cheney, but I was so pleased with how our team rallied together and came back to win that second set. In the third set we were up 19-15 when Cheney went on a 10-1 run and finish out the set and the match.”
No individual stats were available at this time, they will be added when received.
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)
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