Cats Log Three Players of the Week

The Lady Cats are starting to turn some heads after a 5-0 week. Three players — Alexis Pryor, Jayde Allen and Whitney Segrist —have received regional and conference player of the week honors.

Jayde Allen, a junior from Topeka, has been named the Region V and HAAC libero of the week. She averaged 5.2 digs a game, recorded 17 service aces and 77 pass attempts with only three errors.

Alexis Pryor, a junior outside hitter from Overbrook, has been named the Region V and HAAC player of the week. She compiled 79 kills in five matches last week for an average of 4.9 per game and had 20 digs.

Whitney Segrist, a junior from Lyndon, has been named the Region V and HAAC setter of the week. Segrist averaged 11.8 assists and 1.9 digs per game last week.  In addition, she posted 13 kills, six aces and seven blocks in 17 games.

CATS DOWN RAVENS

On Tuesday evening in the Collins Center, in front of a wild and supportive crowd, the Wildcat volleyball team met conference rival Benedictine College in a hard fought battle.  Both teams entered the match undefeated in conference play, looking to stay atop the standings.  In the first two games it looked like the contest might be a clean sweep for Baker as the Cats’ dominated the Ravens 30 -19 and 30 – 20.  But the Ravens, the 4th ranked team in the region, would not be put away easily and answered with a 30 – 25 victory in the third game.  In the fourth, the momentum was lopsided in favor of the Ravens for almost the entire match, as they had the Cats down 26 – 18.  With the score 29-24 in favor of the Ravens, Wildcats junior setter Whitney Segrist (pictured) went to the line to serve for the Cats. Segrist knew that a missed serve would result in a loss for the Cats in game four and the need for a fifth game to decide the match.  Segrist stepped to the line with confidence and served 7 straight balls, which the Ravens failed to capitalize on, to tie the score 29-29.  After several volleys, Alexis Pryor and Katie Jaschke would come up big, when they combined for a double block on Ravens Middle Hitter Kaytlynn Pollock ending the match with a 31 – 29 victory for the Cats’.   According to Coach Kathy Allen, “the statistical odds of winning a match when a team is down 29 – 24 are almost non-existent.” She was very proud of her team and their efforts, “The team stayed very composed and disciplined, and allowed the Ravens to make the errors on game point.  Our girls executed almost perfect defense and showed remarkable poise and maturity during one of the most intense matches of the year.”  The Cats were led by outside hitter Alexis Pryor with 16 kills, and sister, Brooke with 13.  Michaela Marak added 9 kills, while she and Katie Jaschke combined for 12 block assists on the night.  Libero Jayde Allen totaled 23 digs for an average of 5. 07 per game and setter Whitney Segrist dished out 39 assists.

Cats Go 2-2

The Wildcat volleyball team went 2-2 over the weekend against strong competition at the 10th annual Baker Invitational Classic Tournament at the Collins Center.

In the first match, Baker lost in three games to nationally ranked Dordt College of Sioux Center, Iowa. Dordt also defeated three other HAAC schools — Benedictine, William Jewell and Avila — to finish 4-0 at the tournament.

In Baker’s second match on Friday, the Wildcats outlasted John Brown University of Silom Springs, Ark., in a five-game thriller.  Baker won the final game 19-17. Junior libero Jayde Allen (pictured) had a team-high 24 digs. Freshman Brooke Pryor and junior Alexis Pryor had 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Sophomore Michaela Marak had 11 kills, and junior setter Whitney Segrist totaled 46 assists and six kills.

On Saturday, Baker swept Asbury College, of Wilmore, Ky., in three games. Sophomore Nikki Anderson came off the bench and had eight kills and one block. Segrist had a whopping 40 assists in three games.  Outside hitters Maci Harshbarger, Brooke Pryor and Alexis Pryor combined for 30 kills.

In the Cats’ final match, Baker lost in five games to undefeated and nationally ranked Oklahoma City University. Alexis Pryor had 25 kills with only four errors in the match, and Jayde Allen had 24 digs.

Allen and Alexis Pryor were named to the all-tournament team. Allen averaged five digs per game and seven service aces throughout the weekend. Alexis Pryor averaged four kills per game while hitting  .353 for the tournament. 

Some other notable performances from the weekend include sophomore defensive specialist Sarah Laha, who went the entire tournament without a reception error and passed at 100 percent for the weekend.  Laha also had four service aces and 26 digs.  Senior middle hitter Katie Jaschke and sophomore middle hitter Michaela Marak combined for 24 blocks.

After taking on MidAmerica in HAAC play on Tuesday night, the Cats' will travel to Olathe for the MidAmerica Invitational over the weekend.  Baker will play four matches and return to conference play next Tuesday with a home match against Benedictine in the Collins Center. The JV match begins at 5:30 and the varsity at 7.

Fun In the Sun

Sacramento, CA - The lady Cats went 4 - 2 over the weekend at the William Jessup Invitational in Sacramento, California. Playing in 104 degree heat and no air-conditioning could not slow down the Wildcats as they defeated several west coast teams in a marathon tournament that included 6 matches. The Cats prevailed over host William Jessup in 3, Northwest Christian, Walla Walla University, and NAIA powerhouse Menlo University in 4.  Their only defeats came at the hands of Oregon Institute of Technology and South Dakota Tech in 4 and 3 games respectively.

The Cats began to gel as a team, with several players posting standout performances. Junior libero Jayde Allen posed All-American numbers averaging 6.3 digs per game and a stunning 23 service aces to only 6 errors.  Junior outside hitter Alexis Pryor (pictured) averaged 3.7 kills per game with a match high 20 kills against William Jessup.  Transfers Katie Jaschke and Whitney Segrist also posted solid performances, with setter Segrist averaging 10.3 assists per game and Middle hitter Jaschke hitting .360 with 1.4 blocks per game.

After the tournament the Cats headed for cooler ground in beautiful Lake Tahoe, for two days of water fun, mountain biking, and sightseeing.

The Lady Wildcats return home to host the Baker Invitational Sept 7 & 8.  Their first match is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday afternoon in Baldwin City.

CATS WIN CONFERENCE OPENER

Marshall, MO - The Wildcat Volleyball team participated in their first conference match of the year Wednesday night when they traveled to take on the Vikings of Missouri Valley College.  The Cats' started out slow, struggling with passing and serving and lost the first game 26-30.  But from that point on the Cats' would not be stopped.  The Cats' won the next three games in dominating fashion, 30-21,30-22,30-22.  The team as a whole notched 14 service aces while the Vikings had none.  The backcourt defense showed vast improvement from their weekend tournament, netting 15 digs per game.  Leading the way in digs was Junior Libero Jayde Allen.  The Cats' also had a strong performance in terms of blocks, grabbing a season high 23.  Senior Middle Hitter Katie Jaschke led the way with 8 blocks, while Sophomore Michaela Marak and Senior Kelly Wilbur each had 4.  These two categories turned out to be very important on a night when the Cats' offense struggled.  Junior Alexis Pryor led the offense with 10 kills and only 2 errors.  The other four starters combined for an unusually low 17 kills, with a large number of errors, many unforced.  Freshman outside hitter Maci Harshbarger (pictured) was a spark off the bench for the Cats', hitting a stunning .667, with 9 kills in 12 attempts and only one error.  Harshbarger also notched 9 digs, 4 service aces, and one block.  The Cats' will travel this weekend to Sacramento, CA to participate in the William Jessup Invitational, before returning home to host the Baker Invitational on September 7th and 8th in The Collins Center.      

Volleyball Goes 2-2 in HAAC Tourney

The women's volleyball team took part in the HAAC Preseason Tournament this past weekend in Atchison, Ks.  The Cats' opened the season by defeating the Graceland Yellow Jackets 3-1in their first match up on Friday.  The Cats struggled with passing in the second game of the match and gave up 10 aces, but showed composure and bounced back to win the next two games to take the victory over the Jackets.  In their second contest, the Lady Cats' took on the Crusaders of Evangel.  The Cats' jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but couldn't hold on as the Crusaders quick defense dug up everything the Cats' had to offer in the third game, where the momentum changed and would never tilt back.  The Crusaders took the match 3-2 and evened the Cats' record to 1-1. 

Saturday the Cats' opened against last season’s conference champs, the Lindenwood Lions.  The Cats' took the first game with great effort, but the Lions height would prove to be too much as they would defeat the Cats' 3-1.  The final match up of the weekend for the Cats' would come against the Pioneers of MidAmerica.  The Cats' returned to true form and defeated MidAmerica in three straight games, behind solid performances by all the hitters and strong serving throughout.  Freshman Brooke Pryor (pictured) led the way with 15 kills, with her sister, Junior Alexis Pryor finishing close behind with 13. 

Throughout the weekend, Senior middle hitter Katie Jaschke led the way in blocks (12), service aces (7), and kill percentage (.396), while Junior setter Whitney Segrist had 9.5 assists per game, and Junior libero Jayde Allen averaged close to 4 digs per game.  Brooke Pryor led the team in kills with 3 per game followed closely by her sister, Alexis with 2.5 per game. Overall the team averaged 1.5 blocks per game while struggling in the backcourt with a meager 10.5 digs per game produced by the defenders.  The team averaged 96% passing for the weekend in their 2 -2 overall effort. 
The Cats begin conference play Wednesday, when they travel to Marshall, MO to take on Missouri Valley and will then travel to Sacramento, California to participate in the William Jessup Invitational over the Labor Day weekend.