Creek Valley posts 2-1 mark

OSHKOSH – But for a second-set struggle against subdistrict rival Leyton, the Creek Valley High volleyball team put in a strong showing at the Garden County Tournament Saturday.

The Storm finished the tournament with a 2-1 record, which included straight-set wins over Garden County and South Platte. Against Letyon, the Storm fought the Warriors to the bitter end in set one before succumbing in set two by 12 points.

The Storm opened up by taking out the Lady Knights of South Platte, 25-23 and 25-13. Creek Valley was then stopped by the Warriors, 22-25 and 13-25, before concluding the tournament with a convincing win over the host Lady Eagles, 25-11 and 25-12.

"We played well except for the second set against Leyton," said Storm head coach Roger Behrends. "In that set, we really just fell apart and didn't pass well and their serve just killed us."

Against South Platte (2-3), the Storm were behind much of the first set before it began to wrest control in the latter stages. Payje Misegadis ended the opening set with a well-placed tip over the net.

The Storm never trailed in set two, though South Platte managed to pull to within one at 8-7 after trailing 6-2 early. Creek Valley scored 17 of the final 23 points of the match to win going away.

Jessie Straber was tops in kills with seven while Misegadis pounded home six. The Storm had a strong match at the service line as Samantha Schmid and Katie Burch did not make an error in nine attempts. Joey Straber was flawless in seven attempts.

Joey Staber was busy on the back line with a team-high 18 digs, with younger sister Jessie corralling 14. Misegadis had 13 while Smith and Burch each dug out 10. Schmid, the setter, had 16 assists.

In the first set against Leyton, there were eight ties and neither team ever had a lead of better than three points.

The second set opened close, but three consecutive aces by Diedra Waite of Leyton sent the pendulum the Warriors' way. When Waite's turn at the line was over, a 3-3 tie turned into an 8-3 Storm deficit. Creek Valley trailed the rest of the way.

"We play well together but I think we need to work more on talking to each other," said Joey Straber. "We've shown we can work together well, we just have to do it more consistently and more vocally."

Jessie Straber and Misegadis led the Storm with four and three kills respectively against Leyton. Burch had three aces in seven serve attempts. Smith led the diggers with 14 with Jessie Straber getting 12. Burch and Joey Straber had eight digs apiece.

The Storm battled the Eagles early, but Smith took over the serve with a 7-5 advantage and left with a 12-5 lead. The Storm then yielded just six more points. The second set was more of the same as the Storm broke a 3-3 tie and never looked back.

Jessie Straber again led the offensive attack with five kills, while Smith added four and Misegadis three. Misegadis topped the team in digs with 11 while Schmid had 10. Schmid scored 10 set assists.

"For the most part it was a pretty good day, but we have to work on our consistency," said Jessie Straber. "Against Leyton we weren't getting our serves in as much as we needed to against such a good team."

The Storm will be at Sedgwick County (Colo.) on Thursday night for a 5 p.m. start.