Archive: Sports

The streaking Lansing Girls Varsity volleyball team captured it's  6th consecutive IAC victory Tuesday night, September 25th, with an easy 3 set victory over Union Springs in Lansing.

The Cats jumped out to an early 6-2 lead on the strong play of seniors Hannah Armstrong and Keara Lowenhar and the addition of Freshman Katherine Babuka, who was moved up for the contest from the JV squad.  Still the game was not without some drama as Lansing was docked 2 points from its score for being out of rotation. After a lengthy official timeout to settle the matter the home club then went on a tear, scoring 12 of the next 16 points, including the final 9 in a row for a 25-10 triumph. Babuka, seniors Kelsey Thomas and Jada Gooch led the run, with Thomas firing home 4 aces, including the final 3 points all of them aces.

Game 2 had 3 ties and lead changes, the last at 9-9, before the superior athletic ability of the Cats took over, a season high 14-0 explosion, again led by the freshman Babuka who had 2 aces and several service points. In the end it was Armstrong to close out the frame with a spike and push shot over the net for a identical 25-10 score from Game 1.

In the final game coach Brenda Powers started 4 new players and it paid big dividends. Strong serving by junior Kaleigh Hotchin, and solid play by fellow junior Annie Reynolds  helped build a early 9-5 lead. Next came the all around hustle of senior Shalyn Watson to lift the Cats, as she seemed to race down every shot or return with tremendous hustle.  Two Watson aces and a service point made it 16-5, part of a 8-0 Cat run.  Senior Meghan Judd had a strong return to push the advantage to 19-10. Junior Audrey Eastman's ace  gave Lansing a 20-10 cushion, then  Kaleigh Hotchin finished up the night with 2 aces and a service point in the 25-12 game 3 clincher.

For the winners senior Kelsey Thomas tallied 6 aces and 11 service points, Hannah Armstrong added 4 aces, 7 kills and 2 blocks, while the young freshman Katherine Babuka had one kill, 3 blocks, 3 aces and 14 service points, quite an effort for such a young player in her varsity debut.  At 6-1 on the season, the Red Hot Cats will need their best performance of the season on Thursday, September 27th, as arch rival Trumansburg comes to Lansing. The Blue Raiders handed the Cats their only loss of the season in the opening game back in August. A large, loud crowd is expected for the much anticipated rematch.

Last week the team captured their 5th straight IAC section 4 victory on Friday night, September 21st, with a 3 games to one on the road triumph over Groton.

Coach  Brenda Powers veteran group, which included 5 senior starters, went on an early 6-0 run in game 1 to build a 8-3 lead. The overall balance was evident with solid serving by senior Kelsey Thomas, power hits and kills by fellow senior Jada Gooch and steady play from senior Keara Lowenhar. In addition seniors Shalyn Watson and Meghan Judd added a block, ace, and service point to expand the margin to 17-6.  Finally there was the play of all-conference senior Hannah Armstrong, who closed out the first game with a jump ace and jump serve in dominating 25-9 victory.

In game 2  Coach Powers elected to insert 4 new players at the start and  the Bobcats struggled, falling behind early 7-3 as the Indians scored 6 unanswered points.  Kelsey Thomas entered the game and led a Lansing comeback to tie the score at 15.  The teams were tied again at 20, 21 and 23 the latter on a hard ace by Thomas. The home team regrouped with 2 straight points and in a game that had 4 ties and 6 lead changes topped Lansing 25-23.

Game 3 was equally tight early on as the teams had 5 ties and lead changes over the first 17 combined points with Lansing holding a slim 9-8 margin. From there it was the play of Meghan Judd and Hannah Armstrong that broke the game open. Judd had two rocket aces, while Armstrong added a spike and two service points to up the  margin to 15-9. From there the Bobcat balance began to wear down the home team.  A Jada Gooch Kill along with a Thomas ace and 3 service points helped Lansing score 17 of the final 19 points including a 9-0 run in a 25-10 victory.

Game 4  was classic Lansing spread the wealth.  Two Keara Lowenhar service points built a  fast 6-2 lead. Gooch then added a ace and power return to make it 10-7. Armstrong and Watson tallied service points but still the lead was just 3 at 13-10. From there junior Annie Reynolds took over with outstanding serves to complement the play of Thomas, Lowenhar and Armstrong as the Cats rolled off 8 straight points and a 21-11 spread.  Gooch's hard return made it 23-16 before Lowenhar ended the match with the final two points in the 25-16 score.

Overall Kelsey Thomas chalked up 8 aces, 4 kills and 14 service points over the 4 games. Reynolds added 5 aces and 7 service points, while Gooch was equally impressive with 5 aces and 6 service points.

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