By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Veteran Silver Lake volleyball coach Sarah Johnson was happy with the way her Class 3A Eagles battled in five of six sets in Thursday's Shawnee Heights quadrangular against the 5A T-Birds, 6A Manhattan and 5A Seaman.
Silver Lake senior Paige Winsor spikes the ball in Thursday's match against Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
And Johnson was even happier with the way her Eagles bounced back after hitting their only stumbling block of the night.
After dropping a tight 25-23 decision in its first set of the night against Shawnee Heights, Silver Lake got steamrolled 25-12 by the T-Birds in the match-clinching second set.
But that was the top-ranked (3A) Eagles' only loss, with Silver Lake, now 10-1, rebounding to take a 25-20, 25-23 win over Seaman and a 25-16, 25-19 win over Manhattan, handing the seventh-ranked (6A) Indians their lone loss.
Silver Lake senior Paige Heiman (15) blocks a spike attempt in Thursday's match against Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"Overall, I'm very pleased,'' Johnson said. "There were a couple of moments at the beginning of the night that didn't go our way and we weren't playing like ourselves. We were a completely different team that Shawnee Heights match, especially that second set, than we were against Manhattan.
"I was really happy to see these girls just like level up. They were ready for the competition and they gave it their all and it was all of them on the court. I couldn't find a weakness, a weak girl, and I was really proud of all of them on the court. They didn't get down on themselves and I really see this crew as that kind of team. They're going to have errors, we're okay with it, and then we rally back.''
Junior setter Kylie Hanni was also proud of her team's performance, particularly after the loss to Heights.
"We did a good job of forgetting our mistakes and we just really pushed through it and I'm really happy with how it ended,'' Hanni said.
"This (playing bigger schools) really gives us a challenge and it always makes us better because we learn what we need to work on and just facing good competition is really good for us.''
Shawnee Heights senior Jadyn Euwer makes a return in Thursday's Shawnee Heights volleyball quadrangular. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Host Shawnee Heights also went 2-1 in the quadrangular and came within a third-set Manhattan rally of a perfect night.
After its win over Silver Lake, the 2-3 T-Birds pushed Manhattan to three sets before the Indians outlasted the T-Birds, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19.
"I felt like we should have had that game, but we just lost the momentum when we shouldn't have lost the momentum,'' T-Bird coach Sami Kearney said.
Shawnee Heights junior Sami Baum spikes the ball against Manhattan in Thursday's quadrangular at Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But Heights bounced back with a 25-15, 25-21 win over city and United Kansas Conference rival Seaman.
"I saw a lot of good in this team and a lot of great in this team, so I was excited for the night,'' Kearney said. "It's a long night, but they're really good teams. I like seeing all these teams.
"Every year we play this someone else is winning the games and and I think that's kind of fun to see.''
Seaman freshman Leah Little attempts a kill against Silver Lake Thursday night at Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman went 0-3 Thursday but four of the Vikings' six sets were decided by five or fewer points.
MATCH RESULTS
Shawnee Heights def. Silver Lake, 25-23, 25-12; Manhattan def. Seaman, 25-19, 27-25; Silver Lake def. Seaman, 25-20, 25-23; Manhattan def. Shawnee Heights, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19; Silver Lake def. Manhattan, 25-16, 25-19; Shawnee Heights def. Seaman, 25-15, 25-21.
