Kathol, McGregor shine in All-Star performances
NORFOLK — Laney Kathol and Meredith McGregor put on their Cedar Catholic jerseys for the last time on the volleyball court June 10 at the annual Northeast Nebraska All-Star Volleyball Game held at the Cox Activities Center on the campus of Northeast Community College in Norfolk.
The odd element in the contest was the fact the two Lady Trojan stars were on separate teams in the match with Kathol’s Dark Team defeating McGregor’s Light Team in a rare four-set sweep, 25-21, 2518, 25-13 and 25-17, as the match went on this long to allow for more playing time for the athletes and more entertainment for the fans in attendance.
Although they were on different teams, the Cedar Catholic duo carried a good share of the load for their respective teams.
Kathol, a Wayne State College commit, led the match in kills with 11 and ace serves with three.
McGregor paced the Light Team attack with 12 set assists.
The Light Team appeared to be in control of the opening set, holding onto a 21-20 lead, but five consecutive errors handed the first set to the Dark Team and the tone of the afternoon was set.
The Dark Team controlled the next three sets by a 75-48 advantage to end the match.
Kathol was an eyelash from being named the Dark Team’s most valuable player, but a narrow voting went to Pierce setter Brielle Unseld who tipped up 41 set assists in the match.
Dark Team member Channatee Robles from Norfolk Catholic was also in the mix for team MVP honors after recording 10 winners on the court.
The Mid-State Conference connection among Kathol, Robles and Unseld was too much for the Light Team as the Dark Team rolled on from the first-set collapse by the Light Team.
The Light Team MVP went to Emma Baumgart of Humphrey St. Francis for her performance as her squad’s libero.
Dark Team 25 25 25 25 Light Team 21 18 13 17 DARK (kills-aces-blocks): Laney Kathol (Cedar Catholic) 11-3-1; Tessa Gall (Norfolk High) 6-0-0; Hadley Cheatum (Summerland) 5-2-1; Arynn Spence (Stanton) 5-0-0; Alex Arenas (Wakefield) 4-0-1; Alexa Cunningham (Wausa) 3-0-1; Brielle Unseld (Pierce) 1-1-0; Morgan Moeller (Pierce) 0-0-0; Channatee Robles (Norfolk Catholic) 10-1-1. LIGHT (kills-aces-blocks): Mya Zohner (Battle Creek) 4-0-1; Blair Fiala (Howells-Dodge) 1-0-0; Kylee Wessel (Humphrey St. Francis) 4-2-0; Carly Bayer (Howells-Dodge) 3-0-0; Olivia Cunningham (Stanton) 4-1-0; Gracen Evans (Ponca) 6-0-0; Meredith McGregor (Cedar Catholic) 0-0-0; Brooke Wilcox (Elkhorn Valley) 2-0-1; Korbee Wendt (Clarkson/Leigh) 2-0-3; Hannah Baumgart (Humphrey St. Francis) 0-0-0 Set Assists: Dark 42 (Unseld 21, Moeller 1); Light 25 (McGregor 12; Fiala 10, Baumgart 2, Wessel 1).