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Panthers split final pair on court before playoffs
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| Tessie Koziol puts down a kill in the Panthers’ 3-0 win Oct. 20 against Sierra.Photo by Ken Mellott |
By Ryan Boldrey
The Panthers split their final two matches this past week to close out the regular season, finishing at 15-4 overall and in a fourth-place tie in the 4A Metro with a 6-4 record.
Starting things off on senior night Oct. 20 at Woodland Park, the Panthers used an early 12-0 run in the first set to push out to a quick 13-1 lead on Sierra before taking the set 25-11.
The Stallions came out stronger in the second, but with things tied at 11-11, the Panthers again took off on an unstoppable run, shutting down Sierra 14-2 down the stretch for a 25-13 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Using no big runs in the third, but the same steady play, Woodland Park cruised 25-18, capping their eighth shutout win of the season.
“Typically they are not a strong team,” WPHS coach Stacy Roshek said of Sierra. “But when you take 10 of their players out of the lineup [for disciplinary measures] they are going to be even less strong.”
Yet with a look at Sierra’s record of 6-11 and 1-8, it is hard to imagine the Stallions would have been able to give this Panther team much of a match even at full strength.
Tessie Koziol led the Panthers once again with 10 kills, while Emily Harpe and Kira Roberts both added eight, and Jenae Black had five. Koziol also led the team with six aces as Katelyn Wilson chimed in with four digs.
Following the senior night victory over Sierra, the Panthers bussed it east to Falcon to play a much improved squad that came into the match at 10-8 and 5-4 and had high hopes of tying Woodland for fourth place.
Mission accomplished for Falcon, who took Woodland in straight sets, 25-23, 27-25, 25-21 to put themselves into a three-way tie with the Panthers and Mitchell for fourth.
And despite closing the season with a loss, Roshek still likes what she is seeing in her girls right now as they head toward the playoffs.
“I’m pretty confident,” she said. “I think we have enough to pull it together and get [in the] top two out of districts and go onto regionals if we play the way we can.
“I have to do some work with them and get them into position defense and speed up our offense a little bit, but I think we have a good chance.”
The Panthers will have just over a week off to refocus before district play begins and Roshek will be relying heavily on her upperclassmen to lead the way.
“My seniors just need to keep playing the way they have all season and keep being leaders and we need to keep getting Emily Harpe involved,” she said. “Emily’s stepped up quite a bit the last couple matches and done a really good job for us, getting some kills and working on speed. I’d like to see her involved and keep Kira and Tessie involved. Emily Gammill has stepped up too. She is starting to play fast and is making a difference.”
Starting things off on senior night Oct. 20 at Woodland Park, the Panthers used an early 12-0 run in the first set to push out to a quick 13-1 lead on Sierra before taking the set 25-11.
The Stallions came out stronger in the second, but with things tied at 11-11, the Panthers again took off on an unstoppable run, shutting down Sierra 14-2 down the stretch for a 25-13 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Using no big runs in the third, but the same steady play, Woodland Park cruised 25-18, capping their eighth shutout win of the season.
“Typically they are not a strong team,” WPHS coach Stacy Roshek said of Sierra. “But when you take 10 of their players out of the lineup [for disciplinary measures] they are going to be even less strong.”
Yet with a look at Sierra’s record of 6-11 and 1-8, it is hard to imagine the Stallions would have been able to give this Panther team much of a match even at full strength.
Tessie Koziol led the Panthers once again with 10 kills, while Emily Harpe and Kira Roberts both added eight, and Jenae Black had five. Koziol also led the team with six aces as Katelyn Wilson chimed in with four digs.
Following the senior night victory over Sierra, the Panthers bussed it east to Falcon to play a much improved squad that came into the match at 10-8 and 5-4 and had high hopes of tying Woodland for fourth place.
Mission accomplished for Falcon, who took Woodland in straight sets, 25-23, 27-25, 25-21 to put themselves into a three-way tie with the Panthers and Mitchell for fourth.
And despite closing the season with a loss, Roshek still likes what she is seeing in her girls right now as they head toward the playoffs.
“I’m pretty confident,” she said. “I think we have enough to pull it together and get [in the] top two out of districts and go onto regionals if we play the way we can.
“I have to do some work with them and get them into position defense and speed up our offense a little bit, but I think we have a good chance.”
The Panthers will have just over a week off to refocus before district play begins and Roshek will be relying heavily on her upperclassmen to lead the way.
“My seniors just need to keep playing the way they have all season and keep being leaders and we need to keep getting Emily Harpe involved,” she said. “Emily’s stepped up quite a bit the last couple matches and done a really good job for us, getting some kills and working on speed. I’d like to see her involved and keep Kira and Tessie involved. Emily Gammill has stepped up too. She is starting to play fast and is making a difference.”
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