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| Frontier League well represented in all-star volleyball match |
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| Sports | |||
| Written by Gene Morris | |||
| Wednesday, 18 November 2009 08:00 | |||
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Allison Wood was back on the volleyball court setting the ball to Paola High School teammates Kayla Offutt and Briana Mueller. Wood also set the ball to a host of other front row players like Spring Hill senior McKenzie Schick, St. James hitter Jenae Ferro, Bishop Ward’s Allison Jenicke and Tonganoxie’s Abby Eisman. Also setting the offense were Spring Hill’s Kelsey Carbajo and Louisburg’s Mandy Milich as five area seniors represented their state in the 13th annual Greater Kansas City Volleyball Coaches Association Kansas versus Missouri Senior All-Star Volleyball Match on Sunday evening at Avila University.  Paola coach Michelle Abshire, selected the coach of the year for the small class school division, coached the Kansas all-stars with Panther assistant Joni Reed. Abshire, in her 14th season as head coach of the Paola program, led the Panthers to a 28-15 record this season, a Frontier League tournament title, a Class 4A substate championship and the team’s second state appearance in three years. (See related story on Page C2.) Kansas won the first game 25-19, before losing the next two games 18-25 and 12-25. “It was nice that our league was well represented,” Abshire said. “It was fun to get to play one more match and work with all of the girls.” Typically the all-star match is the best three out of five, but time constraints with the large class all-star match held on the same evening, only three games were played. Kansas had won three of the last four all-star matches, including two in a row. Mueller did not take long to make an impact on the match, blocking a Missouri spike at the net. Carbajo made a great dig on the volley, leading Kansas to win the point at 3-2. Carbajo and Schick made Broncos’ volleyball history as the first two Spring Hill players selected to the all-star event. “It was exciting,” Schick said. “I didn’t know we were going to be the first players from Spring Hill to play in it until coach (Spring Hill coach Alicia Von Stein) told me. So, to be the first from Spring Hill was pretty cool.” Schick was undecided about playing volleyball in college, until the all-star experience where she got to work with a new team to get a feel of what that might be like. “After this experience, I am definitely going to play in college now,” Schick said. Carbajo, who has faced the Panthers many times in her career, said it was nice to be on the same team for a change. “I hated playing against them, so it was a lot of fun to be on the same team for a match,” she said. “I was worried how we would play as a team, only being together for one practice, but we talked out there pretty well and were able to put it together.” Carbajo and Schick led Spring Hill to 28 wins on the season, a first place finish in the Broncos’ invitational and a No. 1 seed in the substate tournament. After being tied at 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 9-9 and 10-10 in the opening game, Mueller fired in an ace to put Kansas ahead 11-10. She served for two more points, extending the lead to 13-10. Schick made a block at 16-11 and Kansas was on a roll. Missouri cut the deficit to 20-18, causing Abshrie to call a time out. Kansas roared right back, scoring five of the next six points for the 25-19 victory. The teams were tied through 9-9 in the second game, but Missouri scored five unanswered points to take a 14-9 lead and Kansas tried to catch up the rest of the way. Wood made a great set to Offutt, who blasted away a kill for Kansas at 17-12. “The experience was awesome,” Offutt said. “It was really neat to play with two of my teammates.” Wood made some great sets to Offutt and Mueller from Paola, but also set up kills for all-stars from St. James, Tonganoxie, Bishop Ward and Spring Hill. She made a team-leading 1,005 assists for the Panthers this season. “It was a great experience,” Wood said. “I got to play one more match with Bri and Kayla. It was great to play with so many players from our league and everyone else, too.” Missouri went on another roll, pushing its lead to 20-13. Mueller smashed a kill at 23-18, but Kansas would lose the game 18-25. Wood had a kill to tie the third game at 1-1. Missouri scored the next four points to take a 5-1 lead and never trailed. Kansas fell behind 11-3. Offutt slammed a kill down at 11-4 and Wood served three consecutive points to get Kansas back in it at 11-7. Offutt lowered the boom on a kill at 16-8, but Kansas was not going to get back in again. Missouri took a commanding 21-10 lead. Offut had a tip at the net to make it 24-12, but Kansas would lose it 12-25.
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