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Tigers grind out win over Nevada
Fort Scott High School's last two sets of play in a triangular at the FSHS gymnasium Tuesday night were about as close to a knock-down, drag-out fight as there can be in volleyball.
After Nevada won the first set, neither side was able to get the slightest momentum until the end of the third set, when Fort Scott scored the last four points to take the match, 21-25, 25-17, 25-19.
"Five of those Nevada girls on the varsity team play on my club team in the winter," Fort Scott head coach Carol Bingesser said. "They want to beat my team. Those girls are awesome competitors."
The evening began with Fort Scott's sweep of Anderson County, 25-18, 25-23. Then Anderson County defeated Nevada in two sets, 25-23, 25-17.
Fort Scott (3-4) went in front in the first set against Nevada, 12-11, after Karlee Stanley racked up a kill. But then Kaitlyn Johnmeyer won serve back for Nevada, which went on a 6-0 run.
Fort Scott got back within a point twice but Nevada (1-4) scored 5 in a row to make it 23-17.
Fort Scott scored the next 4 points with Kharsyn Dwyer capping the run. Then Margaret Cavener won back serve for Nevada. A Fort Scott error closed out the set.
Long runs were not going to factor in the final two sets, although Fort Scott did go out to a 9-5 lead after scoring 6 of 7 points, capped by an Ashley Cook kill. Starting at 12-7, the teams traded points for the next 11 serves.
Fort Scott got serve back on a Karlee Stanley kill to 23-17. Dwyer got a kill for the 24th point. And then after a long rally, during which Cook made a one-handed diving dig and Makayla Robertson lost her right shoe, the Fort Scott finally won the set when Nevada made a miscue.
Even though Fort Scott had a couple of runs, neither side scored more than 3 points in a row in that set. That trend continued into the third set.
Again, the closes thing to a run was enjoyed by Fort Scott, which scored 6 of 9 points in one stretch to go up 18-13. Nevada scored the next three, getting within 2 on Johnmeyer's kill.
Nevada got within 21-19 but did not score again. Cook fed Stanley for a tip that hit the floor. Then an error by Nevada, Haley Denton's kill on a freeball and her kill off a Cook assist closed things out. That was the only scoring run of longer than 3 points over the final two sets.
"This match showed a little bit more character," Bingesser said. "They got excited but they kept their intensity up. And we kept rallying. Jenna (Kakas) was swinging hard. Kharsyn was swinging hard. Ashley, of course, always swings hard. And then we were getting bit play out of Katie (Gorman) in the back."
Cook had 12 kills and dished 17 assists for the Tigers. Stanley handed out 14 assists. Kakas had 6 kills and 3 blocks.
"Games like this get us into the next one," Bingesser said. "We're going to have a big match Thursday night with Paola and Wellsville. They're both going to be tough again, so this is good."
Runs were longer but momentum switched sides often in the Anderson County match. The Tigers held a 12-5 lead in the first set after Denton served an ace. But the Bulldogs fought back to tie the score at 17-17.
Fort Scott scored 8 of the last 9 points of the set, with a bad serve by Anderson County wrapping things up.
The Bulldogs never led the first set but rallied from a 10-5 deficit to take a 14-12 lead. They led four more times, the last at 19-18, and also scrapped back to tie the score at 22-22 with an ace serve by Kinlee Jones.
Jones followed up with a serve out of bounds to give Fort Scott the ball. Ashley Cook served an ace to make it 24-22. Anderson County racked up a kill but then gave Fort Scott the sweep with an error.
This first match of the night was Anderson County's first of the season while it was Fort Scott's sixth and Nevada's fourth.
"They're always strong," Bingesser said. "(Head coach Glenn Suderman) always has a good program. When we see them again up there at their tournament, it's going to be a whole different story. He's going to have then where they need to be.
"That doesn't take anything away from our girls because they did a great job. Ashley had big kills in that game. Katie had some big hits, too."
Cook had 6 kills and 6 assists for the Tiger. Stanley handed out 10 assists and Denton recorded 2 blocks.
Saturday, the Tigers played in a non-league quadrangular at Pittsburg, winning one of their three matches.
The Tigers' lone win came over Columbus, 25-10, 25-21. In that match, Denton and Kakas each had 4 kills. Cook handed out 19 assists and served 4 aces. Stanley handed out 18 assists. Gorman was credited with 8 digs.
The Tigers lost to Pittsburg, 25-14, 25-16. Denton had 4 kills in this match as well. Cook dished 33 assists and Stanley 25. Katie Gorman was credited with 14 digs. Robertson came up with 11 digs.
Finally, the Tigers fell to Girard, 25-15, 25-19. Cook handed out 31 assists and Stanley 30. Cook also had 4 kills and Stanley came up with 7 digs. Gorman was credited with 8 digs.
The Tigers play at home once again -- the third of five home matches this month -- Thursday night. Wellsville and Paola will be the opponents with play beginning at 4:30.