Lady Bluejays endure 1-1 week
Tabor volleyball team falls to Ottawa, upends KWU
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Ask Tabor volleyball coach Amy Ratzlaff about the saying "anything that can go wrong will."
She sadly witnessed it Thursday when the Lady Bluejays fell in four sets against the hosting Ottawa Lady Braves, marking the first KCAC loss for Tabor.
Tabor falls to 4-9 overall and 2-1 in the league.
The Braves won the first two games, 34-32 and 30-27.
Tabor forced a fourth game with a 30-28 win before falling short in the finale, 30-27.
"It didn't matter what we tried to do, it did not work," Ratzlaff said. "The women were trying hard to make good choices, but our game was just a little off in every category."
Part of the reason for the defeat came from something not characteristic of the Bluejays — hitting errors.
"We had a very large number of hitting errors which is not typical of this squad," said Ratzlaff "but the errors were due to lots of random errors.
"It was a very frustrating game to play and to watch but a lot was learned through the loss."
The punch in the gut by the Braves may have lit a fire under the Bluejays, as Ratzlaff believes her team now is more motivated.
Tabor's lone bright spot in Thursday's game was the exceptional play of Shannon Kroeker.
Kroeker had 10 attacks and Staci Whitcomb added eight kills.
Jill Hein had four aces and Anne Gunden had 45 assists.
Whitcomb's 12 digs paced the defensive effort while Traci Neufeld and Hein each chipped in 11. Gunden followed with 10.
Kansas Wesleyan
Tabor's week was highlighted Sept. 14 by snapping a 16-game losing streak in Salina on Kansas Wesleyan's home court.
With communication hampered, the Bluejays polished off the Lady Coyotes in a dramatic four games.
Tabor won the first, 30-25, but tumbled 30-24 in the second.
The Bluejays rebounded to win the next two convincingly, 30-18 and 30-16.
"Our game was not flowing very smoothly but we did what we needed to do to get the win," Ratzlaff said. "We always have a hard time communicating in the Kansas Wesleyan gym.
"Those errors were present again this time, but the women pulled together after the second game and played better ball."
Whitcomb and Kroeker led the offensive charge with respective 15 and 11 attacks.
Neufeld had a trio of aces with Gunden adding 48 assists.
The trio of Hein, Loewen, and Johannah Love combined for 35 of the Bluejays' 65 digs led by Hein's 13 to go along with four blocks.
Loewen had 12 and Love added 10.
Tabor hosts Friends tonight in a 7 p.m. start before tackling Central Christian at 11 a.m. Saturday.
