Bluebird volleyball season ends at sub-state
By DELBERT PETERS
Staff writer
The 2007 volleyball season ended for Goessel High School in the semi-finals Saturday at the Olpe sub-state Tournament.
Goessel was pitted against Coffey County High School. The Bluebirds got behind 8-0 and desperately tried to catch up.
Losing the first game 25-22, Goessel was hoping to put its act together for the second and third games.
Game two was close all the way through, with each team trading points.
Leroy eventually won the second game 25-22 to advance to the finals against Olpe High School.
The loss gave the Bluebirds a record of 18-20 to end the season.
Goessel pulled off an upset Oct. 16 at regionals in its journey to qualify for sub-state.
In the first match against lower seeded Burrton, the Bluebirds played an average game and defeated the Chargers 25-20.
Coach Crystal Guhr could tell her players were nervous during the second game, as Burrton won 25-21.
"I told the girls that they needed to use their nervous energy in positive ways," Guhr said.
The Bluebirds responded with a 25-12 victory on their home court.
The victory advanced the volleyball team into a match with top-seeded Hope.
The Lions' record of 30-3 seemed a bit daunting when compared to the Bluebirds' 17-18 record.
After one rotation the score was tied at 12.
Jennifer Raymond was in the serving position as the Bluebirds reeled off five straight points.
With Karis Janzen hitting winners and the defensive game clicking, the Bluebirds stretched their lead to 21-14 and won the first game 25-17.
Goessel continued the attack in the second game jumping out to a 9-2 lead.
Hope began to come back and tied the game 15, creating a tension in the gym.
Rinda Duerksen hit a winner, giving the Bluebirds a lead of 21-19, but again the Lions tied the game at 21.
Jessica Goertzen was dishing out assists while Aspen Frey and Karis Janzen connected on spikes to move the Bluebirds to another two-point lead 23-21.
When Hope tied the game 23-23, Coach Guhr called time-out.
Karina Harvey let the next Hope serve sail just beyond the back line and Frey served an ace to give the Bluebirds a 25-23 victory.
In the finals of the regional tournament, Hutchinson Central Christian jumped on the Bluebirds to lead 7-0 and kept taking advantage of Bluebird mistakes.
The Cougars won game one 25-16. The nightmare continued for the Bluebirds in game two.
Goessel used two time-outs early in the game and trailed 13-0 before scoring.
Central Christian won 25-11 to advance and was the winner of the 1A regional.
The season has now ended for three seniors on the Goessel team.
Sara Sebring ended her high school career after sitting out last year for medical reasons.
Jennifer Raymond was a defensive specialist, stepping in front of many hard hits and contributing with her serving prowess.
Katie Flaming played all the way around, hitting hard, getting under tips that nearly hit the floor, and also serving well all season.
The seniors described the victory in game three against Burrton as "pure desire."
"We knew we could beat them, we just had to do it," said Flaming.
Raymond added, "Records didn't matter tonight. (Against Hope) we had confidence in ourselves and played as a team."
Seven of the schools on the Bluebird schedule this season will be playing Friday in the state tournament.
