Lady Wildcats take wins over Akron & Weldon Valley; stand at 7-2

Last week's action on the volleyball court brought sweeps number four and five for the Fleming Lady Wildcats who now stand at 7-2 on the season. Fleming opened with a sweep over Akron on Tuesday, Sept. 6 and followed up with a road sweep over Weldon Valley on Thursday, Sept. 8.

The Lady Wildcats cruised to Tuesday's victory over Akron by 11 points in the first set and 10 in the two that followed; 25-14, 25-15 and 25-15. Akron dropped to 0-6 after last week's play.

Freshman setter Ciana Lousberg put up 16 sets for the Lady Wildcat hitters in the contest.

Senior Kally Kirkwood led the hitters with 17 kills off 22 attacks. She committed just a single hitting error in the match. Freshman Quincy Stull followed with four kills; junior Madi Serrato added another three for the Lady Wildcat offense.

From behind the service line, Ciana Lousberg and Kirkwood each sent over four aces. Serrato followed with another three aces.

Freshmen Siena Donnelson, Emoree Lousberg and Autumn Volkman and junior Savannah Taylor all served 100 percent for the match.

Freshman Ashley Bornhoft led the defensive charge at the net with three blocks; one solo and two assisted. Kirkwood and senior classmate Maddy Harms put up two assisted blocks apiece.

Senior Laney Schliesser led the Lady Wildcat defense from the back row with six digs. Senior Lexi Schaefer and Ciana Lousberg followed with five digs each.

Schliesser and Schaefer fielded the majority of the Akron's serves from their back row positions. Schliesser led with 12 receives; Schaefer followed with 11.

On Thursday afternoon, Fleming traveled to Weldona to face off with the Weldon Valley Lady Warriors. The Lady Warriors came within five points of the Lady Wildcats in set one, but fell 25-20. Fleming took sets two and three by larger margins, 25-14 and 25-15.

Ciana Lousberg led from the setters position with 20 assists. Kirkwood put up another 10 assists in the contest.

Kirkwood led at the net in kills with 19 for the night. She averaged just over six kills per set. Serrato followed with five kills.

Ciana Lousberg also added top numbers from behind the service line. She put over 17 of 18 attempts with two aces. As a whole, the Lady Wildcats put nearly 92 percent of their serves over the net. Harms went 100 percent on seven attempts.

Harms also led her team's defense at the net. She blocked two kill attempts from the Lady Warrior hitters; one solo and one assisted.

Schliesser and Schaefer dominated from the back row. Schliesser put up team-high numbers in the dig and serve receive categories with 24 and 18, respectively. Ciana Lousberg followed in digs with eight. Schaefer followed in receives with 13.

The Lady Wildcats are set to play on back-to-back nights this week. They're scheduled to open on Thursday night with a home match against the Lone Star Lady Longhorns. The Lady Longhorns enter at 3-6 overall.

The following night, Friday, Sept. 16, Fleming is scheduled to travel to Prairie to take on the 4-4 Lady Mustangs in league action. Prairie stands at 1-1 in the North Central league with a win over Peetz and a loss to Briggsdale.

As of this week, the Colorado High School Activities Association rankings put Fleming in the number two spot in 1A volleyball behind the Merino Lady Rams.