Volleyball News — Page 3

Red Demon Round-Up for Oct. 22

October 25, 2016 By DCHS Sports

Dodge City runners qualify for state

By: John Zetmeir

Both the Dodge City boys and girls cross country teams qualified from the 6A state meet at the regionals in Wichita on Saturday.

The Dodge City girls edged out Garden City by two points to finish third as a team. The difference between second place and fifth place was 3 points.

“We knew it would be close between four teams for the last two qualifying spots, but 3 points separating second from fifth was closer than I thought it would be,” head coach Brian Lenz said. “This team has come a long way from the beginning of the season and we are looking forward to competing at Rim Rock.”

Sophomore Ayanna Hensley was the top Red Demon finisher on the girls side. Hensley finished fifth with senior Coral Neave just behind her in seventh. Junior Luz Lopez and senior America Garcia also finished in the Top 20.

A week after beating Garden City for the Western Athletic Conference, the Red Demon boys were edged out by their conference rivals. The Buffaloes won the regional team title with 40 points, beating Dodge City by 1 point.

Garden City had the top three finishers individually. Dodge City had four runners finished in the Top 10. Senior Marcelo Cruz led the way for the Red Demons by finishing fourth. Fellow senior Alex Ultreras finished sixth, sophomore Javier Marquez finished eighth and senior Jason Luft rounded out the Top 10.

Both teams will compete at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence this Saturday.

VOLLEYBALL

The Red Demon volleyball team’s season came to an end over the weekend in Wichita with a 2-0 loss to Garden City in sub-state play. Dodge City finished the season with a 3-31 record.

“I knew we were in rebuilding mode this season,” head coach Amy Fleener said. “New coach, new philosophy, new schematic system and trying to incorporate all of it with a very young team.

“I did not, however, think we would struggle quite as much as we did. We just didn’t become consistent with our communication, skill execution and confidence this season.”

Dodge City will return a majority of this year’s team in 2017. This season’s roster was constructed of mostly underclassmen, which included a large sophomore class. “I am resolute we will get there,” Fleener said. “Practices up to the very last one Friday have been fantastic. The girls want

to learn and improve and practices have been high energy and competitive.”

The Dodge City boys soccer team will begin their postseason journey on Tuesday evening when they host Wichita Southeast.

The Red Demons (16-0) were the only team in Kansas to finish the regular season with an undefeated record.

Action will begin at 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

FOOTBALL

When the 6A Kansas football playoff bracket was released late Friday night, it was determined that the Red Demons will travel to Topeka for a match up with Washburn Rural.

Washburn Rural (5-3) and Dodge City were among four teams that finished the season with 5-3 records. The Red Demons finished last amongst those four teams in point differential.

DCHS Volleyball in Action

September 28, 2016 By DCHS Sports

The Dodge City High School volleyball team fell to both Liberal and Garden City in their final home matches of the season.

Seniors Tia Bradshaw, Ashley Nelson and Mariah Wissar were all honored on Tuesday afternoon as part of senior recognition. The Red Demons had just three seniors on their roster this season.

“I was very thankful that they three of them came out,” Dodge City head coach Amy Fleener said. “There was some question during the summer whether they would play or not. I am happy that they finished what they started and they knew that it was going to be a rough season and knew that we would be young.”

Fleener appreciated the way that the three seniors helped the underclassmen grow this season. Half of Dodge City’s roster is made up of sophomores.

“They are all young and I remember what it was like when I was in their same shoes,” Bradshaw said. “With them being that young, I just tried to be the leader that I can being a senior and help them along the way and teach them the little things that they need to know.”

The Red Demons will travel to Andover this Saturday before heading to Garden City next Thursday.

By: John Zetmeir, Dodge City Daily Globe

Red Demon Volleyball drops Home Dual to Ulysses

September 20, 2016 By DCHS Sports

Ulysses blanks Demons

By: John Zetmeir

The Dodge City High School volleyball team fell to Ulysses in straight sets on Monday night(18-25, 19-25, 9-25).

Even though the Red Demons found themselves on the losing side, head coach Amy Fleener continues to see progress from her young team that is built primarily of sophomores.

“We’re growing up a little bit and doing a lot of good things,” Fleener said. “We just can’t right the ship when we’ve got a ball out of system. We don’t have the leadership to get us back on the right track but we are doing some good things.”

In the first two sets, the Red Demons found a way to battle back after falling into early trouble. Early in the first set, Dodge City trailed 15-11 before cutting Ulysses’ lead to 17-15.

The Red Demons trailed 3-7 early and 9-12 midway through the second set but were able to tie the game before ultimately falling 19-25. Ulysses started off the third set on a 13-1 run that Dodge City was unable to recover from.

“We just got inside our head,” Fleener said about the third set. “(Ulysses) got on a little bit of a roll and we got our heads dragging and it’s just too hard of a sport to play with your head down.” Dodge City will have a whole week off before returning to the Dodge City High School field house to host Western Athletic Conference opponents Garden City and Liberal. While Fleener has been pleased with her team’s progress, leadership is still an area where she has seen a void.

“System wise and skill wise I think we can play with most opponents but I need a leader,” Fleener said. “I need someone who is going to step in and keep us calm and not let the opponent run five or six points off of us.”

Lady Demons Volleyball Home Quad Recap

September 7, 2016 By DCHS Sports

Demons top Lancers to earn first season win

By John Zetmeir

The Dodge City High School volleyball team picked up their first win of the season on their home court on Tuesday afternoon against Spearville.

The Red Demons held off the Lancers in the first set before running away with set two for a 2-0 (25-19, 25-14) win.

“The culture that we are trying to build of staying engaged every point is getting better,” Dodge City head coach Amy Fleener said.

After jumping out to a 17-9 lead, the Red Demons allowed the Lancers to close the gap in set one. Spearville outscored Dodge City 10-5 but the 22-19 deficit was as close as the Lancers would come as the Red Demons scored three straight points to finish off the set.

“When you do something good, it gives yourself a little bit of energy and a little bit of momentum,” Spearville head coach Syble Thompson said. “When you make a mistake, you have to forgot about it, put it behind you and move on. I don’t think they’ve learned yet that making a mistake isn’t the end of the world. They are afraid of making mistakes.”

Spearville started the day with a loss to Great Bend. In their final match of the evening, the Lancers pushed Kiowa County to a third set before falling to the Mavericks 2-1 (25-23, 14-25, 17-25).

The Red Demons went 1-2 on the day after falling to Western Athletic Conference foe, Great Bend, in their final match of Tuesday’s quad. Dodge City will have a quick turnaround as they will be back in their own gym on Thursday when they welcome in Hays, Lakin and Sublette for another home quad.

“Confidence wise (this week) is huge,” Fleener said. “We’re trying to build a program and lay a good foundation so I’m not getting too caught up in wins and losses but confidence wise, it’s huge for us.”

Thursday’s quad will begin at 4 p.m.

Lady Demon Volleyball Preview

August 26, 2016 By DCHS Sports

By John Zetmeir

The Dodge City High School volleyball team’s first Western Athletic Conference championship since 2010 may not be a realistic goal for the 2016 Red Demons. However, with a talented group of sophomores, a conference championship may be on the horizon.

In her first year as head coach of the Dodge City girls volleyball team, Amy Fleener wants to begin building the program to where she thinks it ought to be.

“We are going to be young,” Fleener said. “The seniors are doing a great job and they are going to earn their spot, the junior class isn’t very big and so we are going to be young. Of the 12 who are in the mix everyday, seven of them are sophomores.”

The three seniors on the varsity roster will be Tia Bradshaw, Ashley Nelson and Mariah Wissar. Sophomores Madeline Armstrong, Madeline Kalschuer, Hayden Sanchez and Ezinne Okoro help make up the large sophomore class.

The Red Demons will begin their season this weekend at a tournament in Hutchinson. Not only will Dodge City be tested by a competitive field of teams, Fleener will get her first opportunity to see many of her new players play at the varsity level for the first time.

“You can only practice so long,” Fleener said. “I want to put the jersey on, have an opponent and see who has ball sense. Some people look exceptional in drills then when you have an opponent, they don’t.”

Fleener recognizes that the Red Demons could struggle early on in the season with such a young team, but come late September, she expects her team to be a hard out for their opponents.

“I think at the end of this year, we’ll be a team that people aren’t really going to be excited to play,” Fleener said. “I think we’ll come on really well at the end of the year. I’m not announcing any kind of championships but I think we’ll be tough by the end of the year.”

Saturday’s tournament in Hutchinson will begin at 8 a.m. There are 14 teams in the field including Dodge City and fellow WAC opponent Liberal.

SCHEDULE

Aug. 27 at Hutchinson. 8 a.m.

Sept. 6 vs. Great Bend, Spearville, Kiowa Co. 4 p.m.

Sept. 8 vs. Hays, Lakin, Sublette. 4 p.m.

Sept. 15 at Liberal. 5 p.m.

Sept. 17 at Liberal. 8:30 a.m.

Sept. 27 vs. Garden City, Liberal. 4 p.m.

Oct. 1 at Andover. 8 a.m.

Oct. 6 at Garden City. 4 p.m.

Oct. 18 at Hoisington. 4 p.m.