Hosts miss opportunities in McCook volleyball meet

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette McCook's Rachel Goltl (9, right) tries to hit the volleyball past Alliance blockers Olivia Vogal (8) and Caitlyn Tritle (16) during third-place final at the McCook Invitational Sept. 15 at the Senior High gym. McCook dropped a three-set battle to the Buldogs.

McCook head volleyball coach Ashley Schutte would love to see her Bison develop a little bit of "killer instinct" to help her team close out games.

The Bison finished fourth in the McCook Invitational Saturday, Sept. 15. The hosts had chances to win sets against Sidney and Alliance and squandered good leads in both matches.

McCook opened with a 25-15, 25-17 win over Decatur Community of Oberlin, Kan. The Bison then lost to Sidney, 25-12, 26-24, in the semifinals. In the third-pace final, Alliance topped McCook, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23.

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette McCook's Lauren Ruggles (right) bumps a serve against Alliance as teammate Brenleigh Daum (1) looks on. The Bison lost to Alliance, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23 to finish fourth in their home tournament Sept. 15.

McCook had a 19-13 lead over Sidney in the second set of the semifinals before the Red Raiders rallied within a single point. The Bison led 23-20 on a kill by Lauren Ruggles, but Sidney scored three straight points to tie the set. A missed Sidney serve put McCook at game point, but a Bison miscue tied the score at 24-24. A Sidney kill and a missed McCook kill gave the match to the Raiders.

In the third-place match against Alliance, McCook watched a 20-16 lead in the final set disintegrate to a 20-20 tie. Alliance led 22-21, but McCook tied the score on a kill by Rachel Goltl. But a Bison serve out of bounds and a pass into the net put Alliance at match point.

Kassidy Gillen kept McCook alive with a kill to get the Bison within 24-23, but McCook misfired on another serve to give the Bulldogs the win.

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette Now serving, Kenzie May. The Southwest junior hits this serve against Cambridge Sept. 15 at the McCook Junior High gym. Southwest beat Decatur Community of Oberlin, Kan. in the fifth-place final.

"I think our first couple of matches of the year, we were building our confidence," said Bison head coach Ashley Schutte. "We were building our knowledge of knowing, 'Hey, we can play with these top teams.' Now I feel we need to get over that hump. We need to get over the hump where we not only know can play with them, we can beat them.

"Again, it's confidence. A lot of time I talk to the girls about making the plays and not letting them happen. We're not really used to right now, being those playmakers, being the one who is going to make that play and get us that point. We're getting better at it. It's something we will continue to work on."

Coach Schutte would also like to break that habit of surrendering those late-set leads and close out more wins.

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette Sloan Johnson (3) of Cambridge sets the volleyball against Southwest Sept. 15 at the McCook Invitational volleyball tournament.

"It's again, a little bit of that confidence and the fact that we were in this circumstance before -- how did we deal with it before? What are we going to do this time to make it different and make it go our way?" Schutte said. "Those last few points are tough, and the match (vs. Alliance), even against Sidney, in general over the whole match, we lost some points on serves that could have made a difference in the end there. We lost some important points. I think in the last game (vs. Alliance) we had six missed serves. When you're playing 23-25, those lost six points can make a difference."

SIDNEY DEFEATED Minden in an exciting championship match Saturday evening. The Raiders won by scores of 23-25, 25-22, 25-22. Minden reached the finals with a 25-17, 25-22 win over Alliance.

Southwest claimed fifth place with a win over Decatur Community. Chase County topped Cambridge 25-18, 26-24, in the seventh-place final.

McCOOK, 3-6, returns to action Tuesday, Sept. 18, at Hastings in a triangular meet with Crete. The Bison varsity and JV will face Hastings at 5 p.m., followed by varsity and JV matches vs. Crete at approximately 6 p.m. at the Hastings High School gym.

McCOOK INVITATIONAL VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

First-Round Match Results

McCook def. Decatur Community (Oberlin, Kan.), 25-15, 25-17

Sidney def. Chase County, 27-25, 25-11

Alliance def. Southwest, 25-17, 25-23

Minden def. Cambridge, 25-18, 25-14

Consolation Semifinal Match Results

Decatur Community def. Chase County, 25-11, 25-17

Southwest def. Cambridge, 25-11, 25-10

Championship Semifinal Match Results

Sidney def. McCook, 25-12, 26-24

Minden def. Alliance, 25-17, 25-22

Seventh-Place Finals

Chase County def. Cambridge, 25-18, 26-24

Fifth-Place Finals

Southwest def. Decatur Community, 25-21, 25-18

Third-Place Finals

Alliance def. McCook, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23

Championship Finals

Sidney def. Minden, 23-25, 25-22, 25-22