Broken Bow earns massive win over Stars on the road
Kearney - The rematch between C1 No.3 Broken Bow and C1 No.4 Kearney Catholic from the district final a season ago lived up to the hype as the Indians pulled off a dramatic 2510, 21-25, 25-22, 16-25, and 22-20 victory at Kearney Catholic on Oct. 18.
“I believe we can play with about anyone in Class C1,” head coach Skylar Morris said. “These girls have continued to prove that over the past two months. This was a big win at this point in the season, especially with conference starting next week.”
The Indians came out firing on all cylinders in the first set and looked like they might shut the Stars out in three sets.
Kailyn Scott put the Indians ahead 7-3 early on with an ace. Her sister Kya Scott came up with a kill keeping the lead at four at 10-6.
Ultimately, Broken Bow was able to rattle off five more points bumping the lead up to 15-6.
The Stars were never able to gain their traction and only got four more points the rest of the set. Kali Staples earned the kill to end the first set and put Broken Bow up 1-0.
Kearney Catholic shook off their miserable play in set one and came out much stronger in set two.
After falling behind early, Emma Schall’s kill in the middle for the Indians had them back within one at 18-17.
The Stars were able to take the next two points to give themselves a threepoint lead. Ashley Keck earned a kill on the left side to give Kearney Catholic a four-point win in set two.
The back and forth tilt between the two heavy waits went back to Broken Bow in set three.
In the middle of the set, Callie White came up with a block in the middle putting the Indians ahead 14-9. That was followed up by Kya Scott with a huge blast on the left side that dented the floor on its way down.
After a kill by Schall in the middle, Broken Bow looked to be cruising up 24-17 or so they thought.
Kearney Catholic battled back from being down by seven and got all the way back to within two at 24-22. At this point, senior leader Callie Staples made her presence known with a kill down the left line securing the win for the Indians.
Determined to get the game to a fifth set, Kearney Catholic jumped out to a huge lead after Ashlyn Wischmeier went crosscourt for a kill to make it 16-8.
Similar to the previous set the Stars had this huge lead that got as big as twelve points before Broken Bow mounted a comeback.
They came as close as three at 24-21 when Keck slammed the door shut on the set with a kill for Kearney Catholic.
With both teams displaying tremendous grit and determination to win, set five proved to be a memorable game for the ages.
It was the Indians who raced out to a 9-4 lead after Kassidy Cyboron and White teamed up for a block at the net.
Callie Squiers earned a kill for Kearney Catholic in the middle cutting the deficit to 9-5 for the Stars. She would later leave that match after coming down awkwardly on her ankle attempting to block Kya Scott’s shot at the net.
Kailyn Scott’s push pass over on the second touch by Broken Bow found its way to the floor and made the score 13-9.
The Stars were able to rally back with four straight points making it 13-13. Keck’s kill from the left side gave the Stars match point at 14-13.
This was one of eight match points that ensued between the two teams in set five.
With the score tied 2020 Kali Staples came up with a huge ace to put the Indians up 21-20. The Stars looked for another ace on the next point with a powerful shot, but Schall used all of her 6’1 frame to send the ball straight to the floor and the Broken Bow players and fans into asteria.
Having a huge night in the biggest moment was Kya Scott who had 23 kills, three blocks, and 22 digs for the Indians. Not far off that pace was Kali Staples with 15 kills, two aces, one block, and 20 digs.
The team’s stats were impressive for Broken Bow as they recorded 60 kills, seven aces, 13 blocks, and 103 digs.
“It’s been very exciting to watch these girls grow on the court and to watch their confidence soar as the season goes on,” Morris said. “It all goes back to them watching the success of last year’s team, practicing against last years team, and putting in the work in the off season.”
The Indians host the Broken Bow tournament on Oct. 20 and will be competing in the one-day Southwest Conference tournament on Oct. 23 in McCook.