by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s busy volleyball team got off to good starts in a pair of Jayhawk Conference matches over the weekend but could only come away with a split.
The Blue Devils won impressively 3-1 at Allen County on Thursday but suffered a 3-1 home loss to league-leading Neosho County Saturday. The loss left the Blue Devils in fourth place in the Jayhawk at 3-2 and 4-3 overall heading into another big week.
After Cowley College for a triangular with Semon Monday at 4 p.m., the Blue Devils are back home Thursday against Labette at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday against Fort Scott at noon. Both home contests are open to spectators and are streamed on the KCKCC Blue Devil website.
“It simply comes down to us controlling our unforced errors,” KCKCC coach Mary Bruno-Ballou said. “We are right on the cusp of being a great team and when we get those things fixed, we can compete with anyone. We are battling a few injuries but still finding way to persevere.”
The Blue Devils rank first nationally in assists and second in kills but they’re also first in service errors and sixth in errors.
The Blue Devils lead the nation in matches played with four more this week.
“Our schedule right now is fast and furious and we are competitive,” Bruno-Ballou said. “We need to fine tune a couple things on our part and get ready for Cowley on Monday.”
The Blue Devils jumped in front 25-17, 25-23 at Allen County, dropped the third set 25-16 but rebounded to close out the match with a 25-19 win. Cassidy Crist, who leads the nation in kills, had 19 and nine digs; sophomore teammate Mia Tomasic 14 kills and 10 digs; and Michelle Dvorak nine kills to lead the way. Sophomore Adriana Velez had 32 assists and 10 digs and freshman Kelcey Hund 17 digs.
KCKCC also took the opening match against Neosho, coming back from match point 23-24 for a 26-24 in a match in which neither team led by more than two points most of the way. However, Neosho swept the next three sets, grabbing early leads in winning 25-16, 25-15, 25-14. The win kept Neosho (4-1) tied with Johnson County for the Jayhawk lead, both at 4-0.
Tomasic had 14 kills and 10 digs, Crist 11 kills and 6 digs, Velez 32 assists and 10 digs; and Hund 17 digs.