Cedar girls put together 2-1 tny. run

HARTINGTON — Cedar Catholic ended up fifth in the Mid-States Conference tournament, losing to Wayne (25-11, 25-9, 25-18) before sweeping Pierce (25-15, 25-23, 29-27) and Crofton (25-21, 25-21, 25- 21) to stand at 15-12 to close out the regular season.

“We played pretty flat against Wayne, but really took care of business the next two games,” CCHS head coach Denae Buss said. “It was a good team effort to really work hard and play fast.”

Makenna Noecker (nine kills) and Laney Kathol (eight kills) led the win against Crofton while Brynn Wortmann (13 kills, four aces), Brooklyn Kuehn (seven kills) and Kathol (four blocks), paced the victory over Pierce.

“I think we learned in that game against Wayne, that you really have to work for it,” Buss said. “Without our effort, things will not happen, and we really did that in the next two games.

“Our schedule has really helped set us up for success and hopefully that shines though in our favor, that we are prepared and ready to keep ourselves moving forward one point at a time.”

Senior OH Gracie Dickes honestly was a bit worried about how the year would progress with the loss of a number of seniors from last year’s team, but once again, the Lady Trojans have found a way to get it done.

“We have gotten to know each other well as friends on and off the court and that has helped us win a lot of challenging games if we hadn’t have had that” Dickes said. “We are hitting our stride at just the right time. There is a lot more communication and a want to win that I don’t think we had before.

“Our conference is crazy good. The first game was definitely rough but going into the second game we all had a drive that we were going to win. We went out there knowing we could win, and we did.”

Dickes notes that if the team did not advance through to the district final it would be a disappointment for the Trojans.

“What has it been about four or five years that we’ve been going to state so it’s been expected,” Dickes said. “So there is that extra pressure to it. But we’ve done well since the beginning of the season following the loss of those seniors.”

Cedar 11 9 18

Wayne 25 25 25

KILLS Cedar - Laney Kathol, 8; Makenna Noecker, 7; Brynn Wortmann, 5; Brooklyn Kuehn, 5; Cady Uttecht, 1.

BLOCKS Cedar - Laney Kathol, 2; Brynn Wortmann, 2; Gracie Dickes, 1; Cady Uttecht, 1; Brooklyn Kuehn, 1.

DIGS Cedar - Megan Heimes, 15; Brynn Wortmann, 9; Makenna Noecker, 5; Meredith McGregor, 5; Cady Uttecht, 4.

SET ASSISTS Cedar - Meredith Mc-Gregor, 8; Cady Uttecht, 7; Brooklyn Kuehn, 1.

Cedar 25 25 29

Pierce 15 23 27

KILLS Cedar - Brynn Wortmann, 13; Laney Kathol, 7; Brooklyn Kuehn, 7; Makenna Noecker, 4; Cady Uttecht, 2.

ACE SERVES Cedar - Brynn Wortmann, 4; Makenna Noecker, 2; Meredith McGregor, 2; Cady Uttecht, 1; Olivia Hamilton, 1; Megan Heimes, 1.

BLOCKS Cedar - Laney Kathol, 4; Brynn Wortmann, 1; Cady Uttecht, 1; Brooklyn Kuehn, 1.

DIGS Cedar - Megan Heimes, 17; Brynn Wortmann, 14; Makenna Noecker, 9; Cady Uttecht, 8; Meredith McGregor, 8; Gracie Dickes, 3; Olivia Hamilton, 3; Brooklyn Kuehn, 3; Laney Kathol, 2 .

SET ASSISTS Cedar - Meredith Mc-Gregor, 14; Cady Uttecht, 10.

Cedar 25 25 25

Crofton 21 21 21

KILLS Cedar - Makenna Noecker, 9; Laney Kathol, 8; Brynn Wortmann, 6; Brooklyn Kuehn, 5; Gracie Dickes, 2; Cady Uttecht, 1.

ACE SERVES Cedar - Brynn Wortmann, 4; Cady Uttecht, 2; Olivia Hamilton, 1; Makenna Noecker, 1; Meredith McGregor, 1; Megan Heimes, 1.

BLOCKS Cedar - Laney Kathol, 4; Makenna Noecker, 1.

DIGS Cedar - Brynn Wortmann, 11; Megan Heimes, 8; Makenna Noecker, 6; Cady Uttecht, 2; Gracie Dickes, 1; Olivia Hamilton, 1; Brooklyn Kuehn, 1.

SET ASSISTS Cedar - Cady Uttecht, 13; Meredith McGregor, 11.

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