Tough stretch for Wildcats

By JOSH MCDONALD

Staff Reporter

It was a rough week at home for the Kellogg Wildcats volleyball squad as they dropped consecutive match to Timberlake and St. Maries respectively (25-16, 25-22, & 25-9 to Timberlake) (15-25, 18-25, & 13-25 St. Maries).

Both matches were much more competitive than the scores would infer, but the Lumberjacks and Tigers were able to find the weaknesses in the Kellogg defense, which made it hard for the Wildcats to get their own offense going.

On Tuesday, the Wildcats hung tough with Timberlake for the first two sets, but it seemed as though the Tigers capitalized off every error, both Kellogg’s and their own.

Kellogg did manage to match them point for point during the second set, until an errant serve gave the Tigers the advantage they needed to wrap the set up.

“We need to start the way we play when we are coming back,” Wildcat coach Hollie Yrjana said. “We start so flat, we need to find our energy and keep it.”

During the Wildcats match with the Lumberjacks on Thursday, there was a definite sense of urgency, unlike the match earlier in the week.

Bodies hit the floor on a regular basis as Kellogg fought valiantly to stay in the match, but the Lumberjacks used skilled hitting to keep Kellogg from gaining any ground.

Once again, it was the second set that provided the Wildcat faithful with the most excitement, but the ‘Cats couldn’t close it out.

“Our serving and our blocking kept us alive tonight,” Yrjana said. “But we did not pass well and it’s awfully hard to run an offense if you can’t pass the ball.”

There were three Wildcats in particular who stood out throughout the week, each bringing a different benefit to the game for Kellogg.

“Maddie Bush has been serving very well, including adding a jump serve to her arsenal,” Yrjana said. “Kat (Rauenhorst) has been playing well for us, especially her blocking tonight (Thursday) she really kept us in the matches. Jaron (Figueroa) has been playing all over the court for us. She is out there running and diving for loose balls, she has been our most consistent energy.”

Kellogg will be travelling to Bonners Ferry on Tuesday for an IML tilt with the Badgers.