Red Demons go 1-2 in Dodge City Quad
By: Shelton Burch
Courtesy of the Dodge City Daily Globe
The Dodge City Red Demons volleyball team lost in straight sets against the Great Bend Panthers, 25-11, 25-12 to close out the Dodge City High School JV/V Volleyball Quad Tuesday night.
Overall, the Demons finished the Quad with a 1-2 record, falling also to Kiowa County in three sets before the eventual loss to Great Bend.
It was an ending Dodge City head coach Amanda Fleener said she was not happy with.
“We just laid an egg,” Fleener said. “We reverted back to last year’s behavior, mentally more than physically.”
She described that behavior as “apathetic.”
“My upperclassmen I usedto losing, and we just reverted,” Fleener said. “We’ll fix it.”
Set one against Great Bend was back and forth. Slowly though, Great Bend pulled away, making the score 10-6, then eventually 17-10, then 21-11 before finally ending the first set 25-11.
The Panthers actually trailed the Red Demons 1-0 in set two, but soon rallied, making the score 3-1 before eventually seizing absolute control of the set by expanding
their lead to 12-3. The Red Demons got as close as 12-6, but never made it any more competitive, falling behind 14-6, 15-10 18-10 and eventually 21-12 at various points before eventually falling 25-12.
Despite the loss, and the initial loss to Kiowa, the Red Demons had their shining moments. They beat Spearville in straight sets, 25-16, 25-23 to get their lone win of the day.
Coach Fleener said despite the mental hurdles, there is a chance this Red Demons volleyball team can be extremely good.
“We have unlimited physical potential,” Fleener said. “We can do things that our opponents can’t do at the net. Blocking, some hitting schemes, we just need to find some confidence to put more than two or three points together.”
The team, however, is also young, with just two seniors on a team of 13 players, which was no more than half the seniors listed on any of the other three teams to play in the Quad. Kiowa County had four listed, Spearville had six and Great Bend also had six.
Overall, five of Fleener’s 13 players are either freshman or sophomores, and Tuesday night, that played a part, Fleener said.
“My freshman were timid tonight,” Fleener said. “They both did a couple of really good things throughout the night but overall they’re playing
a little timid so I need to bring them along faster.”
The Red Demons play their next event, another Quad, at Dodge City High School starting at 4 p.m. on Thursday. That event is scheduled to include Hays, Lakin and Sublette high schools.
