Archive: Sports

The streaking Lansing girls varsity volleyball team made it 4 consecutive IAC victories on Thursday, September 13th, downing Whitney Point in 3 games, 25-15, 25-21 and 25-12 at home.  On a roll, the team won its last three games of the regular IAC season.

Overall it was a balanced effort, as coach Brenda Powers used all twelve of her players to build depth for the IAC stretch run. In game 1 there were two ties and 3 lead changes early on before Lansing took control on senior Keara Lowenhar's sharp return and junior Sam Detrick's power hit to lead 12-9. All conference senior Hannah Armstrong took over with two timely "push" shots, Lowenhar added a kill and senior Shalyn Watson's kill made it 18-11.  The Lansing balanced offense rolled on with Senior Jada Gooch firing home two late aces, in total the Cats scored 6 of the final 7 points to close out the frame.

In game 2 coach Powers started 5 new players from her bench and early on there were 3 ties and lead changes.  The fine serving of senior Meghan Judd gave the home team a 14-6 lead. Judd would follow with 2 aces in between a Kelsey Thomas kill for a 16-7 advantage. With the margin at 19-10 the visiting Eagles scored 10 unanswered points to take the lead at 20-19. Two consecutive Sam Detrick returns tipped over the net for scores to make it 22-20 and fellow junior Annie Reynolds had a nice return and a game ending kill in the come from behind 4 point victory.

With the regular starters back for game 3 the Bobcats could not pull away early, despite two "Jump" aces by Hannah Armstrong to lead 6-4. From there it was consecutive Keara Lowenhar aces and two more from Jada Gooch to push the margin to 12-6.  The Cats then went on a 7-0 spurt with Kelsey Thomas and Shalyn Watson leading the way, the latter with another "jump" ace. Leading 19-10 the cats never looked back as Thomas closed out the match with a jump ace and long serve and a 13 point triumph.

For the night  Armstrong paced the winners with 5 kills, 5 assists and 3 aces. Gooch added 5 aces and 3 kills with Detrick chipped in with 3 aces and 5 kills. At 4-1 on the season and momentum on their side Lansing travels to Groton on Tuesday the 18th for another key IAC contest.

On October 15th Lansing traveled to Whitney Point and easily took the match in 3 sets. The victory helped the Cats get back in the groove after a shocking loss to Southern Cayuga 3 days earlier. That set the stage for an emotional senior night at the high school on October 19th. Prior to the match with Groton, head coach Brenda Powers led a lengthy ceremony that honored the 7 graduating seniors and manager Liz Gonyea.

Flowers and gifts abounded as each senior and their parents walked to center court.  From there it was on to business and the Cats came out on fire in the first set, jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead over the Indians.  Seniors Kelsey Thomas, Hannah Armstrong and Keara Lowenhar led the balanced attack. Thomas had 3 early aces, Armstrong with timely serves while Lowenhar added an ace, kill and key service points to build an insurmountable margin. A Jada Gooch ace ended the set with the Cats coasting to a 25-13 victory. 

With all 7 seniors again playing the entire set Lansing had to work a bit harder in game number 2. Tied at 3-3, two Hannah Armstrong "Jump" aces and a Shalyn Watson kill gave the team a 8-5 lead. Still the visitors hung tough as the teams were tied at 9-9, 11-11, 12-12 and the final time at 13 the 6th deadlock of the set. From there it was another patented Bobcat run, 7-0 to be exact as Kelsey Thomas exploded for 5 aces to build a 20-13 advantage. Next came Armstrong, the clear favorite for IAC player of the year, who closed out the frame with 3 straight "jump" aces in a 25-15 triumph.

Game 3 started slowly for the Cats who fell behind 3-1, but again used its balance to build their lead. Armstrong, Watson, Lowenhar and Gooch all took turns in the run, as Lansing outscored Groton for a 10-6 score. The Indians again came bck and twice pulled within 2 points, the last being 13-11.  From their it was a Armstrong spike, followed by an ace, and 3 straight return points by Lowenhar, the last an ace to make the score 20-13.  Thomas and Watson then closed out the set and the game with 5 points of their own, with the game winning point on a tip by senior Meghan Judd in the 25-17 victory.

On Monday October 22nd Lansing traveled to Union Springs for its regular season finale.  Showing razor sharp focus the Cats led 5-0 out the gate, then went on another 6-0 tear led by senior Keara Lowenhar's 2 aces and service point.  Next came fellow senior Jada Gooch, whose hard kill and power service point build a 15-4 advantage.  The Lansing balance continued as Meghan Judd nailed consecutive aces to make the margin 19-11.  The Wolves were a beaten team as Lowenhar ended the set with 3 straight aces in a 25-15 victory.

Coach Brenda Powers mixed up her lineup in game two with 3 new starters. The move worked as the Cats led early 8-1, with Armstrong leading the charge with 5 straight points including 3 aces.  Meghan Judd, who gets better each game with playing time, added 2 aces of her own to make it a 11-2 advantage. From there several underclassman got valuable experience, with 3 straight points by junior Audrey Eastman, and 4 in a row by fellow junior Annie Reynolds which included 3 aces. An overmatched Union Springs team had no answer in a 25-12 Lansing win. Game 3 proved to be much of the same with everybody on the travel squad seeing playing time in a easy 25-11 victory.

With the victory Lansing now stands at 12-2 on the season and now awaits its opponent in the upcoming sectional playoffs. At time of this article the day and opponent were yet to be determined but could happen between October 29th-31st. A complete recap of the Bobcats post season playoff run will be featured in the next on-line edition of the Lansing Star.

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