Lady Warriors kick it into gear
Peabody-Burns Lady Warriors had a full slate of games last week, opening league play in Goessel on Tuesday and traveling to Solomon for a tournament on Saturday.
The Lady Warriors began league play on a positive note, defeating Pretty Prairie 15-7, 15-10. They came out aggressively and had a limited number of mistakes. "I was very pleased with our effort," said Coach Darrin Schroeder. "The girls did an excellent job of passing the ball and being very aggressive on offense."
In the nightcap against Remington, the Warriors started off slowly and never recovered. "It seemed like we lost our focus for a brief time at the beginning and we just couldn't recover," said Schroeder. "This team has improved tremendously since our first practice. This game will provide a great learning experience."
The score for the match with Remington was 4-15, 4-15.
At the Solomon tournament, the Lady Warriors finished first in their side of pool play and finished third overall in tournament play.
They started off the day by defeating a strong Wilson team 15-7, 16-14. The next contest was against Lincoln which the girls won 15-10, 16-14.
The final match in pool play was against Tescott. The Lady Warriors lost 6-15, 15-12, 14-16.
"During the pool play we were down by a large margin two or three times and battled back to win those games," Schroeder said. "These girls have a lot of heart and want to be successful."
The team lost a heartbreaker in the semi-finals to Quivera Heights 15-7, 3-15, 14-16. The contest saw both teams playing hard at all times. The Warriors were in the driver's seat with a 14-11 lead in the final game only to fall short and lose 14-16.
In the final match of the day, the girls competed in the consolation game. "They came out and gave a tremendous effort and won 15-10, 15-11. They were totally exhausted mentally and physically," said Schroeder. "And they were mentally devastated over the semifinal loss. But as a good team does, the girls fought through adversity and won with a gutsy team performance. These girls are determined to build a successful program."
In tournament play, Gretchen Berns had 21 kills, 12 blocks, and five aces. Marie Unruh had 13 kills, 29 assists, four blocks, and four aces, while Eve Benyusova had eight kills and one block. Ashley Miller had 17 assists.
The Lady Warriors are off to a 6-3 start this season and were at home Tuesday against Moundridge, Inman, and Berean Academy.
