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15-0 run helps No. 9 Lady Blue Devils improve to 4-0

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information

Kansas City Kansas Community College’s No. 9 ranked and unbeaten Lady Blue Devils shook off a sluggish start and rolled to a 90-68 win over William Penn’s JV in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Friday night.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Blue Devils, who are back home Tuesday for a single game against Graceland junior varsity at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on the KCKCC Blue Devil website.

KCKCC led only 16-15 after a turnover-marred first quarter but put the game out of reach in the first three minutes of the second period, scoring 15 straight points for a 31-15 lead. It was 45-25 by halftime, a half in which Blue Devils shot 48.6 percent but committed 11 turnovers.

Hannah Valentine, a 5-9 sophomore from Platte County, led the Blue Devils offensively, scoring a game-high 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting; finished out a double-double with 11 rebounds, also a game high, and handed out five assists.

Faith Putz, a 5-8 freshman from Des Moines, had a career-high 19 points and five rebounds while soph Aliyah Myers added 14 points and frosh De’Jaria Guillory 12 points. The driveshaft in the KCKCC offense, Myers also had a game high six assists, two steals, one block and just one turnover.

Knocking down 19-of 36 second half shots for 52.8 percent, the Blue Devils finished at .507 for the game and .500 from 3-point (9-of-18). Myers had three treys, Valentine and Putz two each. The Blue Devils also dominated the rebounding 40-27 but finished with 20 turnovers to 16 for the Lady Statesmen.

“We didn’t play our best tonight,” KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry said. “I know the outcome on the scoreboard looks pretty good but we can be much better. Too many turnovers. And we were fortunate William Penn missed a lot of open shots. Being 4-0 is never a bad thing but we have to improve quickly as our schedule will present some challenges soon.”

Blue Devil volleyball rolls on, stuns No. 2 Coffeyville, 3-2

Sophomore middle blocker Michelle Dvorak went high to return a volley while teammates Madi Hajek (1) and Mia Tomasic (11) looked on in KCKCC’s stunning 3-2 upset of No. 2 ranked Coffeyville Thursday. (Photo courtesy Coffeyville Sports Information)

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information

It’s been a week like no other for Kansas City Kansas Community College volleyball.

On Tuesday, the Blue Devils shook up the Jayhawk Conference with an impressive 3-0 whitewashing of No. 21 ranked Cloud County in Concordia. On Wednesday, sophomore Cassidy Crist was named NJCAA Division II National Offensive Player of the Week. And on Thursday, the best of all, a 3-2 upset of No. 2 ranked Coffeyville that will jolt the NJCAA national poll to its very core.

“Very exciting; very happy, super proud of an excellent week,” said 10-year KCKCC coach Mary Bruno-Ballou, who couldn’t remember the last time she had a win over one of the nation’s perennial powers. “Maybe 2014. I’m not sure.”

The Blue Devils jumped in front 25-20 in the opening set and nearly came from nine points back in the second set before falling 26-24, “a great comeback to tie the game,” Bruno-Ballou said. The Blue Devils went back in front 2-1, winning the third set 25-19, but let a 7-point lead get away in the fourth set, losing 25-21.

The Red Ravens took a 5-1 lead in the fifth and final set before the Blue Devils stepped on the gas with a 14-4 run and 15-9 win.

“We got excellent serving in that run including a great run by freshman Kelsey Hund,” Bruno-Ballou said.

Crist, who leads the nation in kills, had 21 and Mia Tomasic 15.

“Both were outstanding and our setter, Adriana Velez, had an outstanding all-around performance,” Bruno-Ballou said. “This team is playing hard, playing resilient and finding ways to win.”

The outstanding play comes despite the fact the Blue Devils by local rule were not allowed to have 6-on-6 practices.

“So we’ve really only had three weeks of game play while just about every other school has been playing since August,” Bruno-Ballou said.

Her only disappointments Thursday were unforced hitting, serving and receiving errors that allowed Coffeyville to get in position to win sets two and four.

“We’re playing at a great level and earning a lot of points,” Bruno-Ballou said. “If we can just control those unforced errors, we can take this season to a new level.”

There will be no rest, however. The Blue Devils open their home season Monday against their oldest and bitterest rival, Johnson County, the favorite in the Jayhawk Conference and ranked No. 11 nationally. Monday’s match will be streamed on the KCKCC Blue Devil website.

Deep bench helps Blue Devils roll to 99-73 win

High-flying KCKCC sophomore Jermaine Yarbough lifted off for two of his 22 points in the Blue Devils’ 99-73 win over Park junior varsity Thursday. Yarbough’s 10 straight points broke the game open midway through the first half. (KCKCC photo by Alan Hoskins)

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information

For the first time this season, Kansas City Kansas Community basketball coach Brandon Burgette could relax in the closing minutes of a Blue Devil game Thursday night.

Getting big production from a deep bench and shooting 53.9 percent from the field, the Blue Devils built leads of up to 28 points in a 99-73 win over Park University’s developmental team.

The win evened KCKCC’s record at 2-2 in a season that has seen the first three games decided in the final minute and in two cases, the final seconds.

The Blue Devils are right back in action tonight, playing William Penn’s junior varsity at 7:30 p.m. in Oskaloosa, Iowa. The KCKCC women’s team will also play William Penn at 5:30 p.m. and both games will be streamed on the William Penn website.

The one-sided win enabled Burgette to get a lot of production from a bench that provided nearly half (47 points) of the Blue Devil scoring and 16 of 23 assists. All 12 Blue Devils in uniform saw a least 11 minutes of action and 11 scored, 11 had assists and 10 had rebounds.

Five Blue Devils scored in double figures led by sophomores Jermaine Yarbough, who had a career-high 22 points and seven rebounds, and Caleb Jones, who had another double with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Freshman Don’vae Ferguson just missed a double-double with 14 points and 9 rebounds, both career highs; Deron McDaniel added 15 points, and Bryce Johnson 14 points in just 11 minutes. Basehor-Linwood freshman Conner Younger led in assists with five; Trey Bates had four and Ezekiel Lyons three and seven points, all off the bench.

Guilty of a dozen first-half turnovers (16 total), the Blue Devils led only 25-20 midway through the first half. McDaniel scored nine of KCKCC’s first 17 points to get the lead before Yarbough almost single handedly broke the game open, scoring 10 straight points on two layups and two 3-pointers to expand the lead to 35-22. The Blue Devils led 48-20 at halftime.

“I think we let our guard down early,” Burgette said. “We have to come prepared no matter who we play and understand we have to compete and guard the right way. A good game, we are still learning and progressing. These games are getting us moving in the right direction.”