By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
After falling to the Blue Team 31-29 in the first game of the 23rd Annual Kansas Volleyball Association All-Star Volleyball Game, the Red Team had plenty of firepower to respond, rally and win match in four games.
Playing alongside Moundridge standout Dana Loganbill, a Wichita State recruit, Newton’s Camri Zwiesler helped rally the Red Team to three straight wins (30-23, 37-35 and 30-28) and the match. Although victory had already been decided, a fifth game went to the Blue Team 15-13.
For Zwiesler, who had 12 kills in the match, winning the event wasn’t necessarily a must, but her competitive side was thankful the Red Team was able to rally and secure the win.
“Play to win,” she told the Topeka Capital Journal of the desirable outcome of the match and her thoughts had her team fallen short. “I’m a very competitive person. I would have been a little bit upset because of my competitive side, but I wouldn’t have been too upset.
“The team chemistry and everything was just phenomenal. This was just a really, really good group of girls.”
Loganbill led the way for the victors by hammering home 21 kills. Former Silver Lake setter Amanda Pfannenstiel was credited with 37 set assists. Iola’s Misty Powelson was good for 23 assists.
Defensively, Gardner-Edgerton’s Jamie Starling and Tonganoxie’s Tracie Hileman dug out 18 and 16 Blue Team attacks respectively.
Topeka Hayden’s Corrinne Stringer, a Kansas recruit, proved her Big 12 worthiness by decimating her opposition Saturday with 20 kills and a pair of service aces, in the losing effort.
She was backed up by the nine-kill effort of Abilene graduate Gina Hullet. Circle’s Meryl Loop and Maize’s Lindsey Larson were credited with 35 and 23 set assists respectively. Blue Valley West’s Kayla Bader led the Blue defense by digging up 19 enemy attacks. St. Marys’ Megan Lueger had 17 digs.
Hileman was awarded the Joan Lundstrom Wells Award of Excellence at the conclusion of the match. The Flo Hyman Scholarship went to Hoisington’s Jordan Nettleingham, while Stringer was handed the Judy Bellomo Most Inspirational Award.
Bishop Miege coach Gwenn Pike was honored for crossing over the 900-win milestone, and now has a 932-184 career record.
Football: East, West Split Eight-Man All-Star Battles
The West Squad may have been the more vocal team during weeklong preparations for the Division I Eight-Man All-Star Football Game played Saturday at Trojan Field in Beloit. But the East Team got the last word in a 28-18 triumph that ended a three game losing skid.
“We would go to lunch and people would start chanting West,” Kensington graduate Ethan Kuhlman told the Hays Daily News. “We just kind of hang back and we knew that we didn’t want to start into that. We would just make it worse.”
“About every chance they had, they started chanting it,” he added.
The University of Nebraska-Kearney recruit let his play do the talking on the defensive side of the ball in the 10-point win. The middle linebacker had 10 tackles in the game, including six solo stops.
The East defense was dominating through the first three quarters in helping the offense build a 28-6 advantage. The West offense managed just 82 total yards up to that point, but would score two touchdowns late to narrow the gap.
In the Division II game, Jeff Hennick scorched the East team for 200 yards through the air and three touchdowns on 14-of-17 passing to lead his team to a 42-24 victory. The Sharon Springs graduate also completed passes on two 2-point conversion attempts in the West Team win.
Only three players in the 23-year history of the all-star games had thrown for more yards than Hennick.
Two of Hennick’s scoring passes fell into the hands of Rexford-Golden Plains’ Danny Rogers and Moscow’s Tony Ivan Granillo. Hennick connected with Sharon Springs teammate Taylor Elder on plays that went for 30, 25 and 14 yards and set up scores.
The West led 22-2 at intermission and pushed the advantage to 42-16 in the second half to put the game away.
Hope graduate Lucas Hicks led the East squad with 89 yards rushing on 12 carries. Hicks scored on the first play of the final quarter to get his team its first touchdown of the game. He also scored the East’s final points on a two-point conversion.
