By Staff
MCPHERSON – On Monday, the McPherson Middle School 7th grade volleyball team hosted the Wichita Suburban League Tournament and went 2-1 on the day to finish with a second-place trophy.
For the season, the 7th grade Junior Lady Pups finished 17-6-1.
The 7th grade Junior Lady Pups began the day strong by earning a straight set win over Hutchinson, 25-18 and 25-20.
“We started the day off well with a lot of energy and good serving against Hutchinson,” said head coach Shelley Bohme. “Kennedy Bonham was having a great day of volleyball then went down with an ankle injury at the very end of the first set. She is one of our setters and is a big presence at the net, so that was tough, but the rest of the girls adjusted and continued with solid serving, led by Jersey Alexander in set two to get the win.”
After losing the first set of their match with Newton, 19-25, the McPherson girls bounced back and hammered Newton in the final two sets (25-13, 15-4) to get the win.
Talking about the Newton match, Bohme noted, “We were a little shaky to start off against Newton as we settled into a new rotation but got some great energy from the crowd and played much better in sets two and three. Allison Randa and Ellie Herrera did an amazing job at the net, Krysten Fenstermaker and Allison (Randa) both strung some serves together in the second set, and Ellis (Herrera) had her best serving of the season with 12 serves in a row in the third set.”
In the championship match with Salina South, the 7th grade Junior Lady Pups won easy in the first set, 25-14, before losing a heartbreaking second set 24-26 and then getting throttled in the third set 5-15. Salina South won the league tournament with a 3-0 record for the day.
Looking at the loss to Salina South in the championship match, coach Bohme added, “We played a great set one against Salina South, with Jersey (Alexander) serving the ball well again. We had to play catch up in set two and Kennedy (Bonham) gave us a little spark off the bench when she was able to come back in and serve, but ultimately, we made too many errors and dropped the set. We let balls drop, could not get momentum, and our communication and teamwork were lacking.”
Bohme concluded her reflections on the tournament and season by exclaiming, “It was a tough way to end the season, but there were a lot of positives. Allison (Randa) and Krysten (Fenstermaker) were thrown into new spots and positions and adjusted well. Amarie Lowery had some really good serves and did a phenomenal job of mixing up her hits, keeping them in play, and she hustled all over the floor on defense. Jersey (Alexander) put up some nice passes in addition to a solid night of serving. Karlie Cooper had some nice help passes and while she did not get as many swings as usual, she stepped in to set the ball more with Kennedy (Bonham) out and did a great job. I am so proud of how much these girls improved this season and cannot wait to watch them as they continue to grow.”
(Team Photo: Back Row L-R = coach Shelley Bohme, Karlie Cooper, Ellie Herrera, Kennedy Bonham, Assistant Coach Katherine Cooper; Front Row L-R = Krysten Fenstermaker, Amarie Lowery, Jersey Alexander, Allison Randa)
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)