Category: KCKCC

KCKCC plays host to Johnson County Friday in pivotal conference test

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College made an early 2-0 lead stand up for a vital 2-1 win over Neosho County Tuesday night.

The win pulled the Blue Devils into a tie with Neosho for third place in the Jayhawk Conference with a chance to climb even higher with three games remaining starting Friday when KCKCC plays host to Johnson County in a 5-7:30 p.m. doubleheader.

Cowley College leads the conference at 5-1-1 followed by Johnson County (4-1-1), KCKCC (4-3) and Neosho (4-3), Allen County (3-5) and Coffeyville (0-7).

In addition to JCCC Friday, the Blue Devils play at Allen County next Wednesday and play host to Coffeyville Sunday, Oct. 20. Johnson County has games remaining against Cowley, KCKCC, Coffeyville and Neosho while Neosho faces Allen County, Cowley and JCCC in its remaining three contests.

KCKCC’s 2-1 win over Neosho was the second 2-1 win over the Panthers and earned the tie-breaker in case of a tie. Also, it was only the third loss of the season for Neosho (10-3).

The Blue Devils grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first four minutes on a goal by sophomore midfielder Alejandro Maillet on an assist from freshman Elijah Bathily and then got what proved to be the winning goal from sophomore Ignacia Sarasol, who took a free kick in front of the net from freshman Lucas Santos and beat the goalkeeper with a thunderous kick.

Neosho got its lone goal with seven minutes left in the half, the goal coming when the Panthers beat goalkeeper Boso Pery to the ball for an open goal shot.

But Pery and the Blue Devil defense turned back every other challenge by the Panthers, who got off a dozen shots, six on goal. Perry had five saves including a diving stop in the final two minutes as the Blue Devils staved off countless Neosho advances deep in KCKCC territory.

“A good test for us, we needed to test ourselves,” KCKCC coach Ruben Rodriguez said. “We stepped up to the plate and took care of business. A good win, a big win. And now an even bigger game against Johnson Friday.”

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College returns to the Jayhawk Conference volleyball battlefield Wednesday after dividing four contests in the Central Nebraska Tournament in Columbus Friday and Saturday.

The Blue Devils (13-10) entertain Labette Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and are home again next Monday against No. 6 ranked Fort Scott in their next-to-last regular season home contests.

KCKCC opened play in the Central Nebraska tournament with a 3-0 win over Southwestern Iowa Friday and finished with a 3-1 win over North Platte Saturday but dropped two contests in between, 3-2 to Central on Friday and 3-1 to Northeast Nebraska on Saturday.

“Our right side hitters Tara Mattingly and Cassidy Crist, and our middle blockers Michelle Dvorak and Malaysia StClair, played very well,” KCKCC coach Mary Bruno-Ballou said.

A sophomore from Wichita Northwest, Mattingly had 45 kills and 15 digs in the final three matches; DeSoto freshman Cassidy Crist 59 kills in four matches. Dvorak, a freshman from Park Hill South, had 39 kills, and St. Clair, a sophomore from Beaumont, Tex., had 20 kills. Gracie Golay, a sophomore from Trinity Academy in Wichita, had 113 assists in the final three contests.

KCKCC cruised 25-11, 25-16, 25-14 over Southwestern in the opener as Dvorak and Crist each had 10 kills, Adriana Velez 15 and Mattingly 13 assists and Amilex Lopez 15 digs.

Mattingly’s 21 kills and Golay’s 30 assists weren’t quite enough against Central as the host college eked out a 17-15 win in the final set. KCKCC won the first and third sets 28-26 and 25-21 but lost the second 25-16 and fourth 25-14.

After a 25-16, 23-25 split in the first two sets, Northeast Nebraska won the final two 25-12, 25-23. Mattingly had 15 kills, Dvorak 13, Crist 11 and StClair 8 for KCKCC while Golay had 40 assists. Defensively, Lopez had 22 digs, Natalia Vega Aponte 20 and Mattingly 16.

The Blue Devils took the first two sets against North Platte 25-20, 25-13, dropped the third 25-22 and then closed out the match 25-18 as Crist had 20 kills and Mattingly 11 kills and 9 digs. Lopez led in digs with 21 with Aponte added 10 and Golay 12 to go along with 43 assists.

Edged 2-1 at league-leading Cowley College Saturday, Kansas City Kansas Community College gets a chance to move back up the Jayhawk Conference standings when the Blue Devils play host to County Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Seeking a sweep, a win would pull KCKCC (3-3) into a tie with Neosho (4-2) for third place in the Jayhawk with three games to go. The Blue Devils posted a 2-1 win over Neosho earlier, one of only two Panthers’ (10-2) losses this season. Tuesday’s game is a makeup of a game postponed by lightning and rain last Wednesday.

The Blue Devils are also home Friday against Johnson County in a women’s-men’s doubleheader starting at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Cowley (5-1-1) holds a half-game lead over Johnson County (4-1-1) followed by Neosho (4-2), KCKCC (3-3), Allen County (3-5) and Coffeyville (0-7).

A stout Cowley defense limited the Blue Devils (4-5-1) to just six shots Saturday. Meanwhile, KCKCC goalkeeper Bosco Pery was turning away seven Tiger shots on goal.

KCKCC’s lone goal came with three minutes left on a shot by freshman forward Leonard Bonelli. Cowley took a 1-0 13 minutes into the game on a goal by Lucas Mauro and then got an insurance goal from Murilo Ramos 12 minutes into the second half.