This report is from:
By Kerry Kahl
The Hawk Eye
• Mediapolis sweeps WACO in Class 1A district quarterfinal.
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| Besset Sabourin/The Hawk Eye |
| Mediapolis High School's Jo Kester (4) and her teammates celebrate after winning the first game of Tuesday's Class 1A district volleyball match against WACO. |
Twenty wins is an unwritten standard which most coaches try to achieve at the start of each season. Volleyball coach Dennis Jandrey has reached and maintained that standard during much of his tenure at Mediapolis High School.
The Bullettes were one win shy of No. 20 heading into Tuesday's Class 1A district quarterfinal match against WACO. Jandrey knew the victory wouldn't come easy for his inexperienced team minus one key player.
Eight of Mediapolis' top nine players had never played in a postseason match and starting outside hitter Margaret Kuenzler was sidelined with a sprained ankle. The Bullettes overcame the circumstances and notched their seventh consecutive 20-win season with a 15-5, 16-14, 15-8 home triumph.
The Bullettes (20-9-6), who have won 20 matches in 11 of the last 12 seasons, advance to today's district semifinal against Winfield-Mount Union (16-11-2). The 7 p.m. match will be held at Mediapolis. The Lady Wolves rallied for a 12-15, 11-15, 15-8, 15-7, 15-9 victory over Wapello.
Jo Kester, Mediapolis' lone player with tournament experience, led by example against a young Lady Warriors team. The junior hitter slammed a team-high 12 kills, including seven in a tight second game which the Bullettes rallied from a late deficit.
Teammate Ashlee Baker filled the void of Kuenzler on the front line, registering 11 kills and two service aces. Brenna Nelson and Krista Wirt balanced the Bullettes' hitting attack with seven and six kills, respectively.
Jandrey was pleased with how his players responded.
"We're in tournament time now," said Jandrey. "This is a different atmosphere. The crowd gets into it more. It's different. We only had one kid with varsity experience. It was a great experience to play in two close games."
The Bullettes grabbed momentum early in the first game with Baker serving a 4-0 lead. She later added consecutive kills, followed by a Krista Wirt spike that put Mediapolis in front 14-2. The Bullettes let three game-point chances slip away before finally closing it out on an errant Warriors attack.
"We have had a tendency to come out slow," said WACO coach Tom Ferguson. "We were not in rhythm in the first game. We over-passed the ball and didn't give ourselves a chance to run the offense."
Mediapolis misfired on eight serves in the second game as the Warriors crawled back in the match. WACO built leads of 6-3 and 8-5 before Nelson knotted the score at 8, the first of five ties the rest of the way. WACO pulled ahead, 14-13, after a hitting error, but turned possession over to the Bullettes on a net violation. Mediapolis capitalized, relying on two straight WACO miscues to move ahead, 15-14. Nelson then served the game winner which Wirt capped off with a kill from Joann Weyers' set.
"They kept a lot of stuff alive," said Jandrey of the scrappy Warriors. "They were diving all over the floor. They had good floor defense."
In the final game, WACO jumped out to a 5-3 lead on Emily Lewis' ace, but couldn't maintain momentum. The Bullettes went on a 7-1 spurt which Kester finished with a cross-court attack. The Warriors closed the margin to 10-8 before Mediapolis ran off the game's final five points. Baker connected on three kills during the run. Lindsay Eichelberger's errant hit ended the match.
WACO finishes the season at 11-11-4. They will try to build off a starting lineup that included three juniors and one sophomore.
"We had no returning starters from last year," said Ferguson. "We went through growing pains this season."
Megan Fort led the Warriors with six kills. Teammate Jessica Messer tallied five spikes while Brittany Yutzy served two aces.
Laura Spanhut dished out 29 assists for the Bullettes. She and Kester shared team-high honors with eight digs. Baker hustled for four digs.