Yuma High School’s volleyball team keeps moving on up the CHSAA 2A Selection & Seeding Index.
The Outlaws currently are in good shape to qualify for regional. They entered this week 8-11 overall and 23rd in the Index after being as low as 51st earlier in the season. However, they have a challenging schedule this week as they closed out a five-match homestand this past Tuesday against No. 9 Sedgwick County, and are at 2A No. 1 Holyoke, 15-2, on Friday.
“The girls have really been working hard lately,” coach Jamie Nighswonger said. “I never want to assume anything with where we will end up, especially finishing 37th last year (one spot out of the regional tournament), but I am really happy with how the girls have been playing lately. We have been working well as a team, and that is a lot of the battle…(Holyoke has) a lot of height which means strong blocking and hitting, so we are looking at coming out strong against them.”
Yuma has won nine of its last six, including two of three last week during Homecoming Week.
It began last Tuesday with a solid four-set win over Haxtun. Individual match scores were not available.
The Outlaws had one of their better matches at the net, recording 41 kills. Lindsey Hermosillo had 12, Lauren Gonzales 10, Taryn Sheffield six, Bailey Nighswonger five, Berkley Nighswonger five, Novalee Schuetz two and Aubrey Black one. Bailey Nighswonger had 17 setting assists, Black 12, Gonzales six, and Sheffield and Hermosillo two each. Yuma’s serving was strong at 95 percent. Berkley Nighswonger was 26-27 with four aces, Black 18-19 with three aces, Bailey Nighswonger 16-17 with one ace, Sheffield 13-14 with one ace, Gonzales 11-12 with two aces, and Hermosillo 7-7.
The Outlaws hosted recent perennial 2A power Wiggins on Friday, falling in three sets 18-25, 20-25, 18-25. They had their chances to keep it close and maybe pull out a win, but 12 serve receive errors made it difficult.
“Serve receive is something we work on every day at practice,” Nighswonger said. “Sometimes, though, it just doesn’t click right and we have to just work that much harder to get our setters a good pass to set and our hitters a good set to hit.”
Serving still was strong at 95 percent. Black was 12-12 with three aces, Bailey Nighswonger 11-12 with two aces, Gonzales 10-11 with two aces, Sheffield 8-8, Berkley Nighswonger 8-8 and Hermosillo 6-7 with two aces. Berkley Nighswonger had seven kills, Hermosillo five, Gonzales five, Sheffield four, Bailey Nighswonger four and Schuetz one. Bailey Nighswonger had 11 assists, Black seven, Berkley Nighswonger three, and Schuetz and Gonzales two each.
The Outlaws recovered from their Friday night disappointment to close out Homecoming Week with a sweeping win of Byers on Saturday afternoon, 25-20, 25-18, 25-15.
The quick match included eight kills by Gonzales, Hermosillo five, Bryar Chrismer five, Sheffield three, Bailey Nighswonger three and Schuetz two. Bailey Nighswonger had 13 assists, Black nine, and Schuetz three. Serve receive was much better with just three errors in 42 chances. Black was 14-14 serving with one ace, Sheffield 15-17 with five aces, Bailey Nighswonger 14-16 with one ace, Chrismer 8-9, Gonzales 7-8 with two aces, Hermosillo 5-5 with one ace, and Berkley Nighswonger 4-4 with two aces.