Senior Parker Long bumps the ball to a teammate during the game against Paola Tuesday night." />
Senior Parker Long bumps the ball to a teammate during the game against Paola Tuesday night.
The Cardinals volleyball team sent its seven seniors out the right way Tuesday night with a sweep against Paola on senior night.
Head coach Brooke Hopper said there were a lot of emotions before the match as the team got together with its seniors for the final time on the home court.
“We started praying together, and we were all struggling to get through it,” Hopper said. “This group, they really have heart and they love each other. It’s really hard to put into words, but they just have something really special about them, and it’s not anything you can coach them or teach them.”
Senior Parker Long said the team was extra motivated to get the job done on senior night.
“It just meant so much,” she said. “We’ve been playing together for so long, and it all went by so fast. So, we really wanted to just make it memorable one last night.”
With that, the Cardinals came out in the first set loose and couldn’t help but smile with each play, and sometimes during the play.
The team jumped out to an 11-2 lead after a monster spike by senior Madison Karten.
Karten said the energy of senior night fueled the team early on.
“Everybody’s really excited to see the seniors play one last time, and the student section had big energy,” Karten said.
The Cardinals didn’t look back after their quick start as they took the first set 25-14 after junior Addy Hemphill put down the final point with a kill.
Hemphill finished the game with 12 kills.
Between sets, the team stopped play to surprise senior Ellie Suber with a recognition of her 1,417 career assists.
Hopper said it was a special moment to give the humble Suber some love during the game.
“Ellie’s a really special girl. She continues to amaze me,” Hopper said. “She’s such a humble girl, humble player, and I don’t even know if she knew how many assists that she had. I think the coolest part is that she’s done it in two seasons. She battled some injuries early on in her high school career, and so really last year and this year are when she’s been able to perform and rack up those assists.”
Suber added 35 assists to her career total against Paola. Hopper said the team wants to get Suber to the 1,500 mark before the season is over.
The Cardinals carried their momentum from the first set into the beginning of the second set as the team scored five straight points to take a 15-8 lead.
Toward the backend of the set, however, things started getting a little rocky for the Cardinals as Paola went on an 8-4 run to make the score 23-19.
Hopper used one of her timeouts to get the team settled back down.
“We started to play undisciplined. We started letting little things go. We weren’t talking very well. We weren’t playing very much on the same page. It seemed like we had some miscommunication going on,” Hopper said.
After the timeout, though, the Cardinals put down the final two points. Senior Rayah Foltz gave the Cardinals 24 with a kill and Karten ended the set with a block.
Long said the timeout from Hopper was helpful in getting the game back under control.
“It was just kind of a mental reset for the team, and we were able just to go out on the floor and realize that we just got to finish it,” Long said.
The Cardinals started the third set with five straight points, but Paola answered with a 9-3 run to make the score 9-8 in favor of the Panthers.
A big play by Long and Suber helped the Cardinals start a scoring streak of their own.
Long made an incredible dig to save the point and passed it to Suber who tipped it over the net, only to be blocked by a couple of Panthers. But Suber stuck with the play to get the ball over the net again and secure the point.
“I was so grateful for Ellie to get that over the net,” Long said about the play. “I was really hoping after that dig the ball would be put away, and it was.”
Long had 20 digs against the Panthers.
That play sparked a 14-6 run by the Cardinals, which helped them win the set 25-15. Karten capped off the night with an emphatic kill.
“It felt amazing to end the game tonight,” Karten said.
Karten had two kills and three blocks on the night.
With the sweep, the Cardinals also finished their home schedule undefeated and extended their win streak to nine straight matches.
As the season starts to wind down, Hopper said the Cardinals have some wrinkles to iron out before the postseason.
“We’ve got some defense to work on, and maybe some more consistency in our serve/receive,” Hopper said. “So just really honing in and working on those things that maybe get overlooked whenever you’re playing every other night in the season. So, now we have time to really crack down and work on those things. So, I’m excited to really push them a little bit more in the gym.”
The Cardinals (21-8) will travel to Independence, Missouri, for a tournament at Truman High School Saturday. Sub-state is set for Oct. 21.
Watch the Kaw Valley State Bank post-game show to hear more from Long, Karten and Hopper.
Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected]
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