Leopold volleyball team overpowers Advance in sweep

LEOPOLD -- For the Advance volleyball team, facing Leopold's hitting tandem of Caitlyn Petty and Ashlyn Bucher on the Wildcats' home floor was like the crew of the Andrea Gail attempting to ride out the waves in "The Perfect Storm."

It didn't take long for the Hornets to sink.

Petty and Bucher combined for 16 kills as the Wildcats improved to 13-3 with a 25-13, 25-18 victory Thursday night.

"We've got a lot of good players," said Leopold coach Sandy Davis. "Any one of them can hit the ball. They've really been picking it up."

In front of a packed home gym and vocal crowd, Leopold jumped to an early lead in the first game and never let up. Petty had four kills and a block that gave Leopold a 10-4 lead, and consecutive blocks by Bailee Cope along with her kill from the middle hitter position made it 14-9. By the time Petty rotated back to the front row it was 19-11, and she added three more kills -- including the game-winner -- to close out the first set.

Leopold players celebrate a point against Advance during the first game of their match Thursday in Leopold, Mo. The Wildcats won 25-13, 25-18. (Adam Vogler)

The second set was tighter, with Leopold holding a slim 10-8 lead before unforced errors did the Hornets in. Leopold scored seven of its next eight points off Advance errors to push its lead to 18-11. Consecutive kills by Bucher and Petty made it 20-13. A Petty ace pushed it to 22-14, and the Wildcats scored their final three points off Advance errors to take the match.

"This was a tough one to play on their home court," said Advance coach Dana Below, whose squad fell to 7-7-2. "It was hard to sustain any momentum. We didn't receive serves very well. We played well Monday night against Bernie [a 2-1 Hornets win], but it didn't happen tonight."

She could thank Petty and Bucher for that. The junior tandem dominated at the net, Petty getting most of her kills off short sets to the middle while Bucher cranked a number of cross-court kills from her outside hitter position. Petty finished with 10 kills and three blocks, along with four assists and two digs, while Bucher notched six kills.

Denai Arnzen added five kills and nine digs.

"We run a quick offense, and that's key for us," Petty said. "We don't do a lot of the high sets."

Leopold’s Denai Arnzen spikes during the Wildcats’ two-game sweep of Advance.

Both girls gave a nod to Wildcats setter Sydney Eeftink, who finished with 10 assists to go along with three digs and a pair of service aces.

"The sets were perfect," Bucher said. "You have to give Sydney a lot of credit for that."

When Leopold is able to receive well and get the ball to Eeftink, it makes the inside-outside combination of Petty and Bucher that much tougher to defend.

"They just work well together," Davis said. "They feed off each other, for one. They work well together and their chemistry is good."

For Below, it was a pick-your-poison kind of night with neither choice palatable.

"It is difficult," she said of trying to shut down two effective hitters. "It's hard to practice for that. They've got a really good passing team, and that allows them to do so many things."

Ashtyn Hudson and Krystal James had five kills each to lead Advance. Allie Below had eight assists, Denae Cato four digs and Kendra Sokolowski two service aces.