MULVANE, Kan.—
Rose Hill opened its volleyball season on Tuesday with a trip to Mulvane for some early league competition against Winfield and the hosting Lady Wildcats. The defending sub-state and Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League Div. III champions left with a 2-0 record, but not without some difficulty. The Lady Rockets made quick work of Winfield, sweeping the competition 25-17 and 25-9. Unforced errors proved to be the Achilles’ heel for the Lady Vikings, whose 30 combined unforced errors allowed Rose Hill to coast to victory.
Six ties and the same number of lead changes kept Game 1 close. Tied at 20-all, a kill from freshman hitter Destynee Donaldson and two well-placed tips from senior setter Jolee Gosch helped to give Mulvane the 25-21 win.
The second game began much like the first, with three ties in the first few minutes of play. Rose Hill then jumped out to a three-point lead which it more or less maintained until unforced errors and a big kill from Mulvane senior Meredith McKee tied things up at 24-all. Rose Hill’s hitters then stepped up to the plate, with kills from seniors Abby Jones and Bailey Burnett sealing the win at 27-25 and pushing the match to a third game.
By the third game, Mulvane had run out of steam. 12 unforced errors from the host team combined with seven kills, including three from junior Jessica McDougald, from the Lady Rockets had Rose Hill ending the match with a 25-15 tally.
It should be noted that senior Kelsey Webber was noticeably missing from Rose Hill’s starting line-up. Head coach Leah Rempel said Webber was out with a knee injury and should know on Wednesday how long the senior will be sidelined.
Rose Hill will have a week off, returning to face Andale, Augusta and El Dorado Sept. 7 in another league tri at Andale.
