Category: Sports

by Alan Hoskins

If the Kansas City Kansas Community College team couldn’t bring home the NJCAA Division II volleyball championship, the Lady Blue Devils did the next best thing.

Knocked out of the championship round by a 3-0 opening round loss to Glendale, Ariz., the Lady Blue Devils rebounded to win their next three matches to claim consolation championship honors.

“I’m very proud, especially the way we responded after the opening loss,” said KCKCC coach Mary Bruno after a 3-1 win over Iowa Central Saturday in the ninth place game in the tourney played in Phoenix, Ariz.

“It was wonderful to see the kids rewarded for all their hard work,” she said. “After getting upset in the first round, it feels great.”

While coming into the national tourney seeded No. 10, Glendale followed its win over the No. 7 Blue Devils by shocking No. 2 Central Nebraska 3-2 in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Cowley College 3-2 in the semifinals to reach the championship game against No. 1 Parkland.

“Glendale was one of the best teams we’ve played all season and the best in the national,” said Bruno, whose Blue Devils dropped the first set 25-12 and could never quite recover, losing the second set 25-21 and the third 25-22 after leading 21-19. “They came out blazing we were not quite ready for it. We had our chances but just weren’t able to stop them.”

KCKCC breezed past Genesee 25-12, 25-9, 25-11 in the consolation quarterfinals and then ousted Sauk Valley 25-19, 21-25, 26-24, 25-11 in the semifinals.

“The win in the third set was very big; a very emotional battle that went back and forth,” Bruno said.

The Blue Devils jumped to a 2-0 lead over Iowa Central in the consolation finals, winning 25-23, 26-24 before Iowa Central took a 25-18 win. KCKCC then won the fourth set 26-24 behind the play of sophomore co-captain Blair Russell, who had 10 kills in the final game.

“Blair played well; Kailee Dudley came off a sprained ankle and played every match; and Jasdel Gonzalez played the best she’s played all season,” Bruno said. “And we had stalwart performances by Lilly Thornberg and Andrea Aparacio. All in all it was a great team effort.”

Two years ago, the Blue Devils finished sixth in KCKCC’s first national tournament ever and finished the year 32-8. This year they finished 32-10 playing arguably one of the nation’s toughest schedules – eight of the 15 teams in the national tournament including three of the four teams in the championship semifinals along with five Division I powers including No. 1 Iowa Western.

“I’m very happy,” Bruno said. “It proved we could play with the very best.”

Alan Hoskins is the sports information director for KCKCC.

by Alan Hoskins

Kansas City Kansas Community College’s unbeaten and nationally ranked women’s basketball team cleared its biggest hurdle yet Friday night, handing previously unbeaten Jefferson College its first setback 92-74.

It was the sixth straight win for the 18th ranked Lady Blue Devils, who are right back in action Saturday against Wentworth Military Academy and College at 4 p.m. Jefferson, which suffered its first loss in six games, will take on Labette at 2 p.m. in the first game of the KCKCC Classic.

While the Blue Devils maintained their 92.3 scoring average in the win, it was the Blue Devil defense and rebound domination that overcame sub-par shooting in the early going. Shooting just 22 percent the first 10 minutes, KCKCC trailed 26-19 against a Jefferson team that started out at a 66.7 percent clip.

“Our 3-2 zone defense really caused some problems,” said KCKCC coach Valerie Stambersky. “It enabled us to get steals and defensive boards which in turn allowed us to get out and run and score in transition.”

From the 26-19 deficit, the Blue Devils exploded for a 44-36 lead by halftime as sophomore Julia Garrard scored nine points off the bench to go along with 12 by Erin Anderson and 9 each by Cheyenne North and Cierra Gaines.

Anderson finished with a double double, 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Cassidy Harbert was close to a second straight triple double with 11 assists, 9 points and 8 rebounds. North led all scorers with 17 points while Gaines added 16, Janai Mitchell and Garrard 9 each and Ky’Ana French 8.

Even more impressive was a 53-29 Blue Devil advantage in rebounding. In addition to Anderson’s 10, Mitchell had 9, Harbert 8, North 7 and Gaines 6.

“It was good for us to face some adversity and figure out how to handle it,” Stambersky said. “The rebounding was especially outstanding against a team that thrives on getting on the offensive boards.”
Alan Hoskins is the sports information director for KCKCC.

by Alan Hoskins

Kansas City Kansas Community College is in the finals of the consolation bracket of the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

A 3-0 win over Genesee, N.Y., in the quarterfinals and a 3-1 win over Sauk Valley in the semifinals Saturday has propelled KCKCC (31-10) into the 9th place game against Iowa Central (32-18) Saturday at 11 a.m. (Kansas City time). The game can be seen on-line on the NJCAA website by clicking on Division II and NJCAA TV.

A pivotal 26-24 win in the third set carried KCKCC past Sauk Valley Friday night. The Lady Blue Devils opened with a 25-19 win but dropped the second set 25-21. Then with the momentum of the third set win, the Blue Devils took the fourth set 25-11. The Blue Devils had no trouble against Genesee in the quarterfinals, winning 25-12, 25-9, 25-11.
– Alan Hoskins is the sports information director at KCKCC.