Olathe South volleyball falls from unbeaten ranks

Source: The Star

CHRIS OBERHOLTZ | Staff

Olathe South’s Kaitlynn Pelger went for the ball during a match against Shawnee Mission East on Thursday.

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The Sunflower League title wasn’t handed out Thursday during a quad at Olathe South, but the champion was pretty much decided.

The host Falcons, who entered play 18-0, and league-rival Shawnee Mission East both stood 7-0 in league competition — the only remaining unbeatens when an evening that featured three of the top five teams in the latest Kansas Volleyball Association rankings kicked off.

South, who assumed the No. 1 spot in the Kansas 6A poll a day earlier, wouldn’t remain perfect for long.

“Nerves might have been part of it,” junior setter Emilee Clark said. “We didn’t come out playing our best. It was not our strongest match. There’s always going to be pressure on the No. 1 team, but we handled it OK. We just came out flat and didn’t give ourselves a chance.”

Choosing to play the Lancers first rather than last to capitalize on a big crowd, the Falcons came out flat and never recovered during a 25-22, 25-17 loss.

“We needed to establish our tempo at the beginning,” South coach Ken Talcott said. “We’ve had trouble establishing that early in matches. But we just didn’t get a couple balls to fall our way and didn’t pass as well as we should have.”

Passing has been a strength for the Falcons throughout the season, but a concerted serving effort by SM East threw South off its game.

The net result was a Falcons squad that had difficulty setting its top gun, senior middle hitter Kaitlynn Pelger. A devastating force at the net, the Kansas State commit shined in spots but didn’t get enough chances to put South on her shoulders.

“I was trying to more fool the other team sometimes, because they assumed I was going to Kaitlynn every time,” Clark said.

The loss dealt a severe blow to the Falcons’ league championship hopes.

“We need Lawrence to help us out next week and we have to beat Olathe Northwest,” Talcott said. “But if we take care of business, we’re in a situation now where we need some help.”

Fourth-ranked SM East had the advantage of playing the Ravens and fifth-ranked Blue Valley North, who both the Falcons and Lancers beat Thursday night, in a quad last week.

Coach Scott Dowis said his team used that first match with a Mustangs, a three-game loss, to learn and grow as a team. Obviously, SM East did just that during the six days that followed.

The Lancers, who tested (and at times overpowered) South’s outside blockers, presented the same opportunity to the Falcons.

South, now 20-1 overall, responded with authority, authoring a resounding 25-12, 25-22 win versus BV North.

“It was exciting,” Clark said. “We really wanted to show that can come back after a loss in that match, and I think we did a pretty good job.”

The Falcons, of course, would prefer to still be perfect this season and in control of the Sunflower League title chase, but there are bigger fish to fry.

“It’s sad and it’s disappointing, but now we know that we’re playing for state,” Clark said.

- 2009-10-02 18:09:01