Lady Broncos battle at triangular, tourney

    The level of competition ramped up for the Wauneta-Palisade volleyball team last week.
    Between a triangular Thursday and tournament Saturday, the Broncos went 2-3.
    WP Head Coach Katie Lawless said five games in three days were a lot for the young Broncos.
    All five teams were really solid teams, she added.
Home triangular
    WP hosted Kansas schools Rawlins County and St. Francis Thursday.
    The Broncos took a 25-23, 13-25, 25-22 win over Rawlins County (5-5).
    Two serving runs by Alexa Sandman were the points WP needed to win the first set.
    The Broncos struggled to hold serve in the second set and gave the Buffaloes an easy win.
    Sandman kept Rawlins County on its heels from the service line again in the third set, breaking open the tied game at 16 and giving WP the room it needed to win.
    After St. Francis (4-1) swept Rawlins County 25-19, 25-19, the Indians faced WP in the game of the night.
    WP held a late 20-18 lead in the first set. The match was tied at 23 and the Broncos held off one set point by the Indians, but not the second, falling 24-26.
    Both teams had answers for whatever runs the other went on in the second set. WP grabbed the late lead at 23-22 and stayed one step ahead of St. Francis in the 29-27 win.
    Set three stayed close, as well. From the service line, P. Cox took a two-point deficit and turned it into a WP 10-5 lead.
    Over the course of three rotations St. Francis clawed its way back to a one-point lead.
    The Broncos fell behind 15-20, but P. Cox pulled WP back to within one point, 19-20. The teams traded points back and forth before St. Francis took the two-point win, 25-23.     P. Cox finished with three aces on 16 attempts with one error. She led WP with 15 kills.
    C. Cox had 10 kills on the night.
Hitchcock County Invite
    Lawless said the Broncos were still recovering from Thursday’s games when Saturday rolled around.
    “Thursday night was a really competitive night for the girls and they played really well but it took a lot of energy out of them and they were sore headed into Saturday,” she said.
    WP started off the morning with a sweep of 1-7 Arapahoe, 25-22, 25-20.
    Behind P. Cox, the Broncos erased a 16-18 deficit and took a three-point lead en route to the win.
    Tied at 10 points in the second set, Sandman gave WP a comfortable 15-10 lead the Broncos retained for the rest of the match.
    P. Cox totaled nine kills and Sandman added six kills. Sandman also had three aces.
    In the final game of pool play, WP fell to 6-4 Axtell, 17-25, 10-25.
    WP trailed through much of the match. GraCee Goings and Sandman served up small runs, but WP was never able to gain momentum.
    P. Cox had a team-high seven kills.
    The Broncos finished fourth after losing to RPAC foe, 11-1 Alma, 20-5, 17-25. The Cardinals, coached by former Chase County Head Coach Jodie Schuller, lead the Class D1 point standings.
    WP struggled to hold serve in the first set. Alma had a five-point run in set one to leave the Broncos trailing 10-15. Other than that, it was a closely played set.
    The theme remained consistent in the second set. Tied at five each, Alma went on a five-point run. WP stayed within five points until a four-point run sealed the Broncos fate.
    Sandman led the Broncos with seven kills.
    Looking back on the week, Lawless said she wishes WP would’ve competed better Saturday, but she was pleased about the level of play that the Broncos hit Thursday night.
    “It really showed the girls what they are truly capable of and now we just need to find consistency,” she said.
Up next
    With only one senior in the lineup, Lawless said mental toughness can be a challenge from time to time.
    “It’s definitely something we are working really hard on. Learning to take the mistakes and just respond to these mistakes is the mindset we are trying to reinforce with the kids,” Lawless said.
    Now 6-4, WP needed to bring its A game Tuesday this week when it hosted 6-2 Southwest, eighth in the Class D1 point standings.
    The Broncos now have a week off to prepare for the Paxton Tournament Sept. 21.
    Lawless said everyone is ready for a little bit of a break.
    “We are really excited to have a small break before heading to Paxton. We will get back to the fundamentals, do some conditioning and just continue to work the girls on the small things,” she said.
    Paxton is 4-4, Potter-Dix is 4-5 and Wallace is 3-4.