After a weekend tournament where the Lady Jays went 4-4 in their competitions, they traveled to Holton on Tuesday, Sept. 12, for a Big Seven triangular. Sabetha has been struggling to find consistency in their game play in the early stages of this season, but gained some valuable experience against the Wildcats and Hiawatha Lady Red Hawks. The Jays topped Holton in their early match, but fell to Hiawatha later in the evening.

“Every night of play we learn something about ourselves as a team and last night, though we played very inconsistently, we learned about the power of the will to win,” said Head Coach Abby Stueve. “From previously losing to Holton at the beginning of the season to winning in two sets last night, I thought we showed proof of improvement and strides. However, the loss to Hiawatha and our level of play brings in the reality that we are still battling inexperience and mental toughness.”

The Lady Jays came out with fire and determination against Holton and although they battled the ghosts of a previous loss to the Wildcats, and competition was close, Sabetha defeated their host school in straight sets, 25-22 and 25-22.

With the hopes of riding the momentum of their wins over Holton, the Jays faced Hiawatha in the nightcap competition. The Jays could not get their engine firing on all cylinders, struggled and lost to the Red Hawks, 8-25. The second set was much closer in scoring, but Hiawatha came out on top by a score of 25-23.

Junior Erin Boltz led her team with 14 kills, two aces, 21 digs and two blocks in her two matches. Fellow junior Aubrey Schmelzle inked 10 kills, 11 digs and three solo blocks. Senior Mya Grimes had 18 assists and 15 digs, and teammate and fellow senior Alexia Hayden had 12 assists and 12 digs.

Sabetha finished 2-2 on the night in Holton and now post a 7-7 overall record in week three of the season with a lot of mileage left in the campaign. The Lady Jays welcomed Riverside and Perry-Lecompton to town for a home triangular on Tuesday, Sept. 19. The results for this contest were not available at The Herald’s press time.