by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Playing two of the top three volleyball teams in the nation in a span of three days is an overwhelming task for just about any team – but especially to a team that opened the season with its first 11 matches on the road.
Such was the fate of Kansas City Kansas Community College. Beaten 3-0 at Coffeyville Monday night, No. 3 Johnson County ruined the Blue Devils’ long awaited home opener with a 3-0 win Wednesday night.
The loss left the Blue Devils 6-6 overall with five of the six losses to nationally ranked teams heading into a much needed weeklong layoff. They’ll return to action next Wednesday, entertaining Allen County at 6:30 p.m. and then playing host to the eight-team KCKCC Tournament, a tourney that will be highlighted by a KCKCC-Coffeyville re-match.
Despite a raucous KCKCC home crowd, Johnson County never trailed in posting 25-19 and 25-21 wins in the first two sets. The Blue Devils led briefly in the third set but the Cavaliers pulled away down the stretch after a 14-14 tie.
“We were having an uphill fight the whole time,” KCKCC assistant coach Allyssa Lutgen said. “The first game we had two receive mistakes that helped Johnson County get ahead.”
And back-to-back games against two of the top three teams in the nation did not make the Blue Devils’ task any easier.
“I think we definitely were more fatigued than normal and mentally playing the No. 1 team and then the No. 3 team was certainly a major hurdle,” Lutgen said.
