K-P falls to 2A No. 7 East Sac County at tourney

Kingsley-Pierson continued to exercise their volleyball power Saturday as they competed in the Rockwell City-Lytton tournament.

After placing second in their pool, the Lady Panthers were edged out of the semifinals by East Sac County, the seventh-ranked team in Class 2A, in the third game, losing the match 2-1 and ending their day at the tournament.

In pool play, the Lady Panthers defeated Paton-Churdan 2-0 and Rockwell City-Lytton 2-0.

Against the Rockets, K-P was led by senior Briana Schaeuble, who totaled 11 kills, three ace serves and one block. Kelsey Krieg added 11 assists from the setter's position and libero Dani Sudbeck dug up four hits.

Against the Wildcats, Schaeuble teamed up with fellow senior Amanda Dirksen to totaled 14 kills in the match - Schaeuble totaled eight while Dirksen had six. Schaeuble also led the Lady Panthers in digs with eight.

Krieg set up the senior hitting duo with 17 total assists in the match. She added two aces from the server's line.

Freshman Deandra Mahrt stepped up on defense, recording two blocks and five digs.

The Lady Panthers dropped their third pool play match to Schaller-Crestland, 2-1. Schaeuble led her squad once again with a team-high 13 kills. The senior teamed up with freshman Mahrt to record two blocks each. Mahrt added eight digs on defense.

Krieg dished up 14 assists in the match while Dirksen served up two aces.

With the 2-1 pool record, the Lady Panthers finished second in their pool and were matched up with East Sac County - the top team in the other pool - for the championship round.

But K-P was finished after that match, falling in the third game to the Raiders, who are ranked seventh in Class 2A.

Individual statistics from this game were not available.

Despite the quick finish in the finals, K-P coach Jon Mouw was pleased with the way his squad battled.

"It was a bummer that we lost to Schaller-Crestland," Mouw said. "If we would have won that one we would have won the pool. We really had the lead in the first game against Schaller too."

"But we got second in our pool and the other two matches we played well," Mouw continued. "Against East Sac, we beat them in the first game, but they came rolling back and got us the next two."

But Mouw was proud that the girls, a Class 1A squad, could play so well with the bigger, ranked schools they faced at the tournament. "We went out and played well," Mouw said. "The girls played hard and I was happy with how we played overall. The girls were happy with it too. We went out there and played our best and we had a fun match [against East Sac County]."

The road for the Lady Panthers is still lined with tough opponents as the season continues. Up next, K-P hosts Galva-Holstein on Tuesday. The Pirates - ranked No. 14 in Class 1A - will face the Lady Panthers in a Western Valley Conference battle. And that's just what Mouw expects the match to be - a battle. "Galva-Holstein was in the other pool at the tournament [in Rockwell City]," Mouw said. "They ended up third in their pool and it was a tough tournament. But we got to see them and they got to see us, so I'm expecting it to be a battle."