Tabor volleyball 'settles' for KCAC co-championship
Written by Tom Stoppel
Tuesday, 09 November 2004
You know the standard of excellence is extremely high for Tabor College volleyball when sharing the conference regular-season title comes as a disappointment.
That's just what happened Thursday when the Bluejays concluded a stellar regular season on a sour note, falling on the road to Southwestern College 26-30, 30-19, 30-23, 21-30, 13-15.
Although Tabor still owns a share of the conference title with Ottawa, the Bluejays' quest for a fourth straight outright Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference title went by the wayside. Tabor and Ottawa both finished at 15-3. The Bluejays are 19-11 overall.
"I think we'll feel better once we win a couple more games," coach Amy Ratzlaff said. "It's such a blessing to see such a change in the program and still be able to be successful because the girls have put forth the effort to say we are going to be a championship team even though we're a new team.
"This fourth one means a lot because it was sure hard work."
As a consequence of the loss, which broke a 15-match winning streak, Tabor has now lost the home court advantage in the post-season KCAC tournament because Ottawa scored four points more than Tabor did in head-to-head competition.
"This was a hard loss for us," Ratzlaff said. "We just weren't ourselves tonight."
Adding to the misery was the fact Tabor wasn't fully healthy.
"Jill Hein was sick with the flu, so we were just a little bit off on the court," Ratzlaff said. "We fought hard, but things didn't come together as usual.
"We had some people in both the front row and back row who played out of position, so that took some adjusting."
Anne Gunden fueled the attack with 56 sets in 157 attempts. Lindsey Vogts responded with 16 kills, Erin Loewen with 15 kills and Staci Whitcomb 12.
Although the Bluejays didn't play up to their capabilities, Ratzlaff credited the Moundbuilders for their play.
"Southwestern played a great match," she said. "They have six seniors and they won't make it to the tournament, so this was their last game and I think they felt like they had something to prove.
"We definitely didn't capitalize on our opportunities and we gave them too many chances," she said. "Them playing a great game and us just not being ourselves, proved to be a deadly combination."
On defense, Gunden and Traci Neufeld both came up with 16 digs while Hein had 14 and Loewen 13. Loewen added four blocks.
Hein's illness gave other Bluejays a chance to shine, particularly Ashley McKillip.
"Ashley came in and did a great job during the match for Jill," Ratzlaff said. "Hopefully, we can gain fuel for our motivation to work harder this week because of the loss.
"The number one benefit of losing now is that it gives the women a feeling they are vulnerable, and if they want to keep playing, they're going to have to work," she said.
"Any athlete knows the feeling of defeat is something you don't want to experience. Maybe this was a good reality check, knowing we have to earn what we get."
Bethany-Tabor clinched a tie for the KCAC title on Tuesday by beating Bethany College in Hillsboro, 30-20, 30-17, 30-23.
"This was a solid win for us," coach Amy Ratzlaff said. "We played a stable game and took care of things.
"It wasn't a game where we got on a high from great performance, but the women did what we needed to do and I think they really enjoyed the game and enjoyed each other on the court."
Leading the offense were Erin Loewen and Jill Hein with 15 kills each and Lindsey Vogts with 12.
Anne Gunden completed 50 sets in 114 attempts.
On defense side, Traci Neufeld contributed 16 digs while Hein had 14 and Johannah Love 12. Hein and Vogts each were credited with four blocks.
"We hit the ball fairly well, so that always affects how many defensive plays are available," Ratzlaff said. "I thought it was a good night."
Coming-Second-seeded Tabor received a first round bye for the first round of the KCAC tournament.
Tabor hosts the winner of the Bethel College (No. 3) and Kansas Wesleyan (No. 6) match at 7 p.m., Thursday in Hillsboro.
"Bethel and Kansas Wesleyan are two different squads," Ratzlaff said. "It'll be hard because we have to wait until Wednesday to prepare for them.
"Neither team will be an easy match."
If the Bluejays survive and Ottawa wins its Thursday night match against the winner of the first-round match between Sterling and McPherson, they will travel to Ottawa for the championship match on Saturday. The starting time will be 7 p.m.
"The good thing is, we lost to them in the first half of the season in Ottawa, so the women are pretty fired up to want to go back and beat them there," Ratzlaff said. "The other thing is, the football team is at Saint Mary that day, so we hope we might have a really good crowd there.
If Tabor wins and Ottawa loses, the Bluejays would host the championship match.
The winner of the tournament will head to Dordt, Iowa, for regional action Nov. 18-20.
