Sabetha’s Lady Jays hit the highway for a road contest last week when they traveled to Perry on Tuesday, Sept. 20, to take on the Kaws and the Nemaha Central Lady Thunder. A sputtering start plagued the Jays and led to a lackluster performance for the night with Sabetha beating Perry, taking three sets to do so, and then falling to the Thunder in straight sets.

Perry-Lecompton

“We started the night off pretty off our game and ended the evening just the same,” said Head Coach Abby Stueve.

The Lady Jays met the Kaws in the first match of the contest and lost the opening set 22-25 in close play. Sabetha rallied in the second set to top Perry, 25-20, and finished the spar with a white knuckle set, with the Jays narrowly winning, 26-24.

“The game against Perry was not our greatest win ever as we still gave away some runs and got unfocused on our play by play goals,” Coach Stueve said. “The win did help our league standings, but that is not our ultimate goal.”

Nemaha Central

In their final duel of the evening, Sabetha met Nemaha Central, who sits at the top of the Big Seven standings, and team chemistry continued to falter.

“The Nemaha Central game proved to be a mental roadblock,” Coach Stueve said. “We struggled to put effort into all plays, we struggled to execute crucial plays and we allowed Nemaha Central to go on several serving runs.”

Sabetha would lose to Nemaha Central 25-15 in the first set and 25-16 in the second.

Sophomore Erin Boltz continues to be a contender in both phases of the game when she led the team with 44 good hits, 12 kills and three service aces offensively for the night. Boltz had 17 digs, 23 serves received and two solo blocks defensively.

Senior Mary Lukert continues to be a luminary for her team with her multifaceted skill, and she had 30 good hits, eight kills and one ace offensively. Lukert also had 24 digs and 32 serves received on defense.

Senior Jessica Gruber was a standout at Perry with seven kills, two aces and three solo blocks. Senior Halle Scoby had seven kills and 22 serves received, and junior Alexia Hayden continues to lead her team in assists with 68 on the night.

“We have implemented an adjustment to our defense and found some buy in from the girls and, more importantly, success. We have to maintain a competitive consistency, which will serve us in the long run down the road in postseason,” Coach Stueve said.

The Bluejays hover in third place in the league, just a half a game behind Hiawatha, and now post a 13-7 overall record. Sabetha traveled on Tuesday, Sept. 27, to Jeff West where they met up with the Tigers and Riverside.