Leyton hopes to sting Hornets in Grand Island

Ever since the Leyton Warriors (30-2) volleyball team lost a 2-1 decision to the Pine Bluffs Hornets on Oct. 12, the champions of Class D2 District 6 have reeled off 10 straight victories without dropping so much as a set. Perhaps the Warriors are peaking at just the right time.

After a well-deserved pep rally and send off from Dalton tomorrow at 9 a.m., the Warriors will travel east for the third consecutive year to do battle in the Nebraska D2 State Championships. The seventh seeded Warriors will meet the No. 2 Giltner Hornets (28-2) on Thursday at Grand Island Central Catholic at 9 a.m. CST.

For Leyton this is the fifth time in the past six years they have made the journey. Only the 2010 team was not able to qualify for the dance.

"We're ready to go and the girls are excited," said the Warriors Head Coach Jodi Craig. "We want to do more than just play in the first round we want to win that game."

By definition the challenges at state are always big. The Hornets have played a strong schedule, which included their district finals match against the top seed in the tournament. No. 1 Bertrand (31-0) erased Giltner 3-0 last week to take the D2-4 district final.

Both the Hornets and Warriors have played 81 sets this year. Leyton has won 72 of its 81 while Giltner has gone 68-13. While those numbers are impressive on both sides, all they really say is that both are outstanding teams.

Giltner is an experienced team that has gone to statesfour of the past five years. Six of the 11 players on the Hornets roster are seniors.

"We have had a lot of senior leadership this season and that's been a big part of our success," said Hornets Head Coach Kurt Polt.

While the two teams are strangers to each other they have exchanged films. As of press time Coach Polt, who is also the principal of Giltner, has not had the opportunity to view the Warriors in recent action. He did have the opportunity to watch them at last year's state tournament.

"I remember them as a very athletic team, so I have plenty of respect for them," Polt said. "When you face a team as athletic as they and can cover a large part of the floor that poses special challenges. When I see the films I'll have a better idea of how we're going to try to deal with that."

Polt added that his team is also capable of covering a lot of court space. Unlike most teams, however, Polt does not use a libero.

In the front court the Hornets are led by a 5-9 hitter in Dani Most, who is tops on the team in kills with 436. In addition to Most, Giltner has three other players that accumulate most of its points at the net: Darby Hinrichs (292 kills), Augusta Rhoades (163) and Kelbie Lyon (145). All but Lyon are seniors.

"These girls have played a very tough schedule this year so they're all experienced with tough opponents," Polt said. "But it doesn't get any easier at state. We expect Leyton to be another strong challenge."

Hinrichs is also among the leading Giltner servers. She has 49 aces to lead the squad. Some of the other top aces for the Hornets are Sarah Most (43), Jaclyn Happold (39), Augusta Rhoades (33) and Dani Most (32).

The top defenders at the net for on Giltner include Dani Most and Kelbie Lyon with 47 and 39 block aces, respectively. In addition to her offensive abilities, Hinrichs patrols the back court, too, with 356 digs. Rhoades (238) and Dani Most (210) follow Hinrichs in dig totals.

"They have a very good setter who's comprable to Katy (Ernest) so we have to be aware of where she is," said Craig.

Happold, a 5-9 junior, is the setter the Hornets rely on game in and game out. She far outpaces the rest of the team in set assists with 939.

Happold clearly is to the Hornets what Ernest is to the Warriors. Ernest is the pivot point around which Leyton's offense usually revolves. Like Happold, Ernest is a talented setter who leads the team is assists with 621. Leyton has a number of able hitters that benefit from her sets.

Kelsey Waite leads five players who have accumulated triple-digit kills this season. With 220, Waite is followed in kills by Kassandra Harris (157), Kaitlyn Berner (134), Shaela Jenkins (115) and Diedra Waite (102). Ernest has also cabable of having the final say in the offensive chain.

She has 76 kills on the season.

Harris has had an outstanding year from the service line with an impressive 97 percent erroless rate. With a team leading 421 serve attempts Harris has made only 14 errors.

She is also second on the team in aces with 60.

Ernest leads in aces with 87.

Defensively, Kelsey Waite has blocked 79 opponent shots to lead Leyton. She also tops the list in block aces with 15. The Warriors steady backcourt defense includes seven players with more than 100 digs. Harris leads the way with 273 while Jenkins is close behind with 231.

The others in triple digits are Diedra Waite (178), Ernest (169), Berner (163), Carly Rushman (157) and Kelsey Waite (113).

"We've had an opportunity to see some of the big gyms this year in Bayard and Sidney and many of these girls have been to state before," said Craig. "Some nerves at this stage are natural. But I don't think the big gyms or the bright lights will bother us.