By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After suffering a pair of losses in last weekend's Bishop Miege tournament, a chance to finally get an opportunity to play in the Bueltel Activity Center was just what the doctor ordered for Class 4A's No. 2-ranked Hayden volleyball team.
No. 2-ranked (Class 4A) Hayden celebrates a point during Thursday's triangular sweep over Ottawa and Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Wildcats played their first 11 matches of the season on the road before celebrating their home opener Thursday night with a 25-12, 25-21 win over Ottawa and a 25-22, 25-17 victory over city rival Shawnee Heights.
The wins helped the Wildcats wipe the bad taste out of their mouths after losses to No. 1-ranked Miege and Eudora last Saturday.
Junior standout Hailey Schmidtlein (22) and the Hayden volleyball team swept Ottawa and Shawnee Heights Thursday night in the Wildcats' home opener. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"Obviously it would have been great to go 5-0, but the fact that we did lose those games, that gives us so much to work on,'' said Hayden junior standout Hailey Schmidtlein. "We know the stuff we're going to have to improve on if we want to make a run at state.
"I think we took it personally, we went to work this week at practice and we were getting ready for our first home game, so that's always fun and always brings a lot of adrenalin and a lot of excitement.''
Hayden senior Mallory Tanking (facing) celebrates a kill with her Wildcat teammates Thursday at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden coach Corrinne McGreevy was extremely pleased with how her team, now 10-3, bounced back from the losses.
‘’That was a really great tournament, but it showed us things we needed to work on,'' McGreevy said. "We had three solid practices. We got to work and we took care of business.
"I tell the girls, 'I'm going to coach you hard so when it comes to the game times that you're flowing and you feel smoother and you feel more confident out there,' and they did that tonight. They played so confident and they played together as a team. It was good volleyball.''
Hayden rolled past Ottawa in its first set of the night, opening up 17-8 and 22-9 leads on the way to the 13-point win.
Ottawa pushed the Wildcats in the second set but Hayden held on for the four-point victory and the sweep.
Shawnee Heights hung with Hayden throughout the first set before the Wildcats took the 25-22 win.
Hayden took control early in the second set, going up 8-1, 12-4, 20-9 and 22-10 on the way to the 25-17 win.
Shawnee Heights volleyball celebrates a point during Thursday's Hayden triangular. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights went 1-1 on the night, earning a 26-24, 25-20 victory over Ottawa in its first match of the night.
Shawnee Heights senior Clara Morgan (27) sets the ball during Thursday's Hayden triangular. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights built a 17-11 advantage in its first set against Ottawa but the Cyclones battled all the way back to tie the set at 23 and 24 before the T-Birds scored two straight points to take a win.
Heights took an early 7-1 lead in the second set and later went up 10-2 but Ottawa battled back within 17-16 before the T-Birds took control at 23-17 and closed out the five-point victory.
First-year Shawnee Heights coach Katie Glatczak said that it was definitely an up and down night for the T-Birds, now 10-6 on the year.
"Tonight was a battle for us,'' Glatczak said. "We have much more potential than what we showed tonight.
"There's bits and pieces where it's good and we found out tonight that we have a lot of work to do and we're not satisfied with where we're at right now and we've got a long road ahead of us.''
Match results
Hayden def. Ottawa, 25-12, 25-21; Shawnee Heights def. Ottawa, 26-24, 25-20; Hayden def. Shawnee Heights, 25-22, 25-17.
