by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College stayed in the thick of Jayhawk Conference volleyball race Monday with a 3-0 win at Independence.
The 25-18, 25-22, 25-22 win boosted the Lady Blue Devils’ conference record to 3-1 and overall record to 14-5 heading into yet another challenging weekend tournament – the Johnson County Volleyball Challenge in Overland Park Friday and Saturday.
The three-match sweep came despite the absence of the Blue Devils’ top two outside hitters, 5-10 freshman Katie Heeter and 6-0 sophomore Amanda Modesto. Both are injured and questionable for this weekend’s tournament called by KCKCC Coach Mary Bruno the toughest the Blue Devils have played in in recent years.
A seven-team tournament, six of the teams are either nationally ranked or have been ranked in the NJCAA’s polls of the Top 20 teams.
In KCKCC’s case, the Lady Blue Devils will square off against three teams ranked in the Top 6. KCKCC will open the tournament Friday at 2 p.m. against Kirkwood (Iowa), the No. 4 ranked team in Division II with a 17-4 record, and then go up against No. 6 ranked Central Nebraska (15-5) at 6 p.m.
On Saturday, the Blue Devils will play North Platte at 9 a.m. and then play the tournament’s final match at 1 p.m. against Iowa Western, the No. 2 team in Division I with a 14-2 record. Other ranked teams in the Challenge are No. 18 Des Moines Area and No. 19 Johnson County.