KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Park Hill and Park Hill South teamed up to raise awareness for breast cancer in Dig for A Cure match on Monday, Oct. 1 in a non-divisional showdown.
Park Hill South wore light pink jerseys, while Park Hill wore pink jerseys with breast cancer ribbons in each of the numbers on the back of the uniform. The two rivals posed for a photo before play commenced.
Park Hill won the match in two sets, 26-24 and 25-22, though the outcome was secondary to the importance of the showdown.
Lindsey Hood noted her Park Hill team watched a video about breast cancer prior to the match.
“We talked about the stats, 1 in 8 women get breast cancer and we looked around and three of us have the potential to get breast cancer,” she said. “That is one thing I was trying to point out. Volleyball is what puts us here, but it so much bigger. It is our job to develop these girls as women and have them leave us as better people.”
Karen Rule, Park Hill South’s coach, noted that a teacher in the high school is battling stage four breast cancer and the game held a lot of importance in recognizing her.
In terms of the game, the first set was tied 10 different occasions, starting at 11-11 and as late as 24-24.
The largest lead of the first set was four points, held both times by the Trojans (9-10-2), 10-6 was the latest and after that the lead never was larger than two.
South (17-9) regained the lead at 12-11, the first since the initial point, but a kill by Rachel Pella tied the match. The senior had eight kills.
Park Hill was a point away from the win at 24-22, when an error gave the ball back to the Panthers and then Alex Dvorak followed with a kill knotting the match at 24. Two errors by the Panthers gave the Trojans the final two points in the victory.
Park Hill South fell behind early in second set but behind the play of the Dvoraks — Alex and Michelle — they surged ahead 20-17. The Panthers led 22-18 but couldn’t stop the Trojans. Kristen Birmingham, an Oklahoma commit, had three of her team-high 11 kills in a late rally that forged a 22-22 tie and ultimately Park Hill pulled away.
“We didn’t follow our game plan and they did,” Rule said. “And it makes a big difference.”
The Trojans have now accounted for six of their nine wins since Sept. 22, going 6-2-1 in that span.
“We are learning to fight harder and finish games,” Hood said. “We always get excited to play South and ultimately any win is a pretty big win. We haven’t had a ton of success early in the season.”
Rachel Francis had seven kills to pace Park Hill South, while the Dvoraks combined for eight.
Alex Dvorak had four kills, while Pella, Alie Aiono and Aliyah Lyons had two each for Park Hill.
There was a total of 129 digs with Kori Smith (17), Sabrina Lane (13) and Alyssa Ramos (10) finishing in double figures for the Trojans and Kacy Lewallen (15) and Abbie Day (12) pacing the Panthers.
Powell and Lyons had 13 assists each for Park Hill, while Arley Anderson had 14 for the Panthers.
Blue Springs South Tournament
Park Hill South 2, Kickapoo 1
After the teams alternated 25-19 wins, the Panthers won 25-23 in the decisive third set in pool play in the Blue Springs South Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 29.
Junior Rachel Francis had a team-high 14 kills, while Michelle Dvorak (12) and Lauren Leners (10) also finished in double figures as Park Hill South had 49 kills. Arley Anderson dished out assists on 44 of them. Kacy Lewallen had 46 digs, while Leners added 13.
St. James Academy 2, Park Hill South 0
The Thunder won 25-14 and 25-17 in another pool play match against a private school from Lenexa, Kan.
Michelle Dvorak and Rachel Francis each had four kills for the Panthers, while Dvorak’s two blocks led the team. Abbie Day had 11 digs and Arley Anderson had 11 assists.
St. Teresa’s Academy 2, Park Hill 0
The Stars won for the second time this week against Park Hill South, winning 25-16 and 25-21.
St. Teresa’s limited the attack for Park Hill South, as Rachel Francis had six of the team’s 14 kills. In terms of blocking, the Panthers had only three.
Adah Anderson had 10 digs and the team’s only ace. Arley Anderson had 12 assists.
Kickapoo 2,
Park Hill South 0
Facing for the second time in the tournament, the Chiefs reversed an earlier loss, winning 25-22 and 25-20.
Kacy Lewallen had 23 digs, while Hannah Knight had 11 for Park Hill South. Arley Anderson had 24 assists, while Abbie Day’s seven kills paced the offense.
Other games
Kearney 2,
Platte County 0
The Bulldogs got the best of the Pirates in the Highway 92 Rivalry sweeping both sets 28-26 and 25-22 in a Suburban Conference Blue Division contest on Thursday, Sept. 27 in Kearney, Mo.
Sophomore Bryn Mcgehe was a stat-sheet stuffer for the Pirates compiling eight kills, one ace, 12 digs and 12 assists. Junior Ashley Bell added 10 assists and senior Carli Hensley had 12 digs and three assists for the Pirates.
Park Hill South 2,
Staley 0
The Panthers spiked the Falcons 25-14 and 25-13 in a Suburban Conference Red Division road conference match on Thursday, Sept. 27 in Kansas City, Mo.
Abbie Day led a balanced offensive attack with eight kills, while Michelle Dvorak added five for the Panthers.
Arley Anderson led the team in aces (4) and assists (20), while Adah Anderson paced the Panthers with nine digs, one more than Abbie Day.
Lee’s Summit North 2, Park Hill 1
The Broncos knocked off the Trojans 2-1 in a Suburban Gold Conference tilt on Thursday, Sept. 27 in Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Kristen Birmingham had 10 kills, while Sabrina Lane added nine for Park Hill in the loss.
Kori Smith was one of three Trojans in double figures in digs with 18. Lane had 13 and Valencia Zamora, a freshman, had 12. Landyn Powell and Aliyah Lyons had 12 assists each.
Park Hill South 2,
St. Joseph Central 0
The Panthers roared past the Indians 25-19 and 25-17 in a Suburban Red Conference match on Tuesday, Sept. 25 in St. Joseph, Mo.
The Panthers benefitted from the passing of sophomore Arley Anderson who dished out 20 assists. Junior Rachel Francis led the Panthers with nine kills and two aces. Sophomore Abbie Day (15 digs) and classmate Lauren Leners (six blocks) helped keep the Indians off the scoreboard. Hannah Knight and Adah Anderson had 10 digs each.
Park Hill 2, Staley 0
The Trojans won two-hard fought sets 25-23 and 25-22 in a Suburban Conference home game on Tuesday, Sept. 25 in Kansas City, Mo.
Sabrina Lane and Hannah Graves had six kills each for the Trojans and Aliyah Lyons and Landyn Powell had seven assists each.
Rachel Pella had four blocks, while Alie Aiono and Graves had three each. Kori Smith and Lane had nine digs apiece.
Platte County 2,
Winnetonka 0
The Pirates had no trouble with the Griffins winning 25-15 and 25-13 in a Suburban Conference Blue Division match on Tuesday, Sept. 25 in Kansas City, Mo.
Junior Ashley Bell kept the Pirates offense and defense moving all-night with her 13 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore Bryn Mcgehe added six kills, seven assists and an ace, while seniors Gracie Acker and Molly Duggan had a pair of aces.
Senior Harper Sinclair, junior Karoline Kilkenny and freshman Kate Brown each had a pair of blocks.
St. Teresa’s Academy 2, Park Hill South 0
The Stars swept past the Panthers 25-21 and 25-19 in a non-conference match on Monday, Sept. 24 in Kansas City, Mo.
Lauren Leners had eight kills, while Michelle Dvorak had seven for the Panthers. Abbie Day had 12 digs and Arley Anderson added 20 assists.