Yuma High School’s volleyball team definitely has its work cut out to qualify for the postseason.
The Outlaws entered this week with a 7-11 record and sitting at No. 39 in the Class 2A CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index. The top 32 at the end of the regular season qualify for the postseason.
The Outlaws were at 2A No. 2 Sedgwick County this past Tuesday. They host Holyoke on Friday for their Homecoming Week match. Holyoke entered this week No. 27 in the Index.
“We definitely have some work to do this week to try and get into the regional tournament,” coach Jamie Nighswonger said. “Over the next couple of weeks, we play Sedge, Holyoke, Wray, and Limon – all teams ranked ahead of us, which means beating any of them would help boost our ranking. We just have to keep working hard and playing together to make that happen. We have everyone healthy and everyone is hungry to meet our goal of making it to the regional tournament.”
The Outlaws gave it a great battle this past Tuesday in Julesburg. They forced the No. 2 Cougars to five sets, winning the first and fourth before finally succumbing in the fifth.
Yuma went 1-2 in matches last week.
It began last Tuesday at Haxtun, which is No. 10 in the Index. The Outlaws lost in four sets, 22-25, 25-20, 23-25, 17-25. Taryn Sheffield had nine kills, Berkley Nighswonger seven, Bailey Nighswonger six, Lauren Gonzales four, Alina Moran three and Aubrey Black two. Black led in setting assists with 21. Yuma served 93 percent from the line. Bailey Nighswonger was 17-17 with three aces, Black 16-17 with two aces, Moran 14-18 with one ace, Gonzales 13-13 with one ace, Sheffield 9-9, Berkley Nighswonger 7-8, and Carolina Ross 6-6.
The Outlaws traveled to 2A No. 5 Wiggins on Friday, falling in three sets, 18-25, 12-25, 15-25. Berkley Nighswonger had six kills, Moran five, Gonzales four, Sheffield four, and Black two. Black had 11 assists, Bailey Nighswonger five, and Ross two. Yuma served 87 percent. Black was 13-13 with one ace, Moran 8-9 with one ace, Berkley Nighswonger 7-7, Bailey Nighswonger 5-6 with one ace, Sheffield 3-4, and Gonzales 3-6 with one ace.
Yuma was back on the road Saturday for a match at No. 28 Byers. The Outlaws got back in the win column with a four-set victory, 25-19, 25-12, 16-25, 25-18. Gonzales put down 10 kills, Moran eight, Sheffield six, Berkley Nighwonger five, and Black three. Bailey Nighswonger and Braylynn Armstrong each had one. Black led in assists with 23. Yuma served 90 percent. Ross was 15-15 with one ace, Bailey Nighswonger 14-14 with two aces, Black 15-18 with two aces, Gonzales 13-15 with two aces, Sheffield 12-13, and Moran 9-12 with two aces.
“We needed that win at Byers,” coach Nighswonger said. “We have had a difficult schedule, especially this past week playing at Haxtun, at Wiggins, and then at Byers. I really feel like the team battled hard and really had a chance to win in Haxtun – we just fell a bit short. The girls worked hard at Wiggins but just couldn’t quite get things clicking that game. So, Byers was a big win after a long week.”