The Gehlen Catholic volleyball team got their tournament run off to a nice start with a three-set sweep of Siouxland Christian on Monday night.
Postseason volleyball brings some nervousness with the pressure of having one match to keep your season alive. The Jays may have experienced that with some rough patches throughout the match, but head coach Dan Goebel was overall happy with their performance.
Gehlen Catholic made an abrupt change late in the year switching from a 6-2 rotation to a 5-1 rotation meaning freshman Addi Castle would be handling the setting duties exclusively. Coach Goebel says they are still working out the kinks, but he is pleased with where she is at right now.
The Jay offense was sparked by Rysaiah Sitzmann who had 10 kills which deviated from the norm of Aurora Goebel leading the way. Three other Jays joined Sitzmann in having at least four kills in the matchup. Coach Goebel says that depth offensively makes them a dangerous team.
The quarterfinal round will pit Gehlen Catholic against Trinity Christian in Hull. It will be a rubber match with each side taking one from the other at various points in the season. Coach Goebel is hoping he sees more of the team that beat the Tigers last week than the team that lost to the Tigers three weeks ago.
The Jays improve to 15-11 with the win. First serve will be Wednesday night at 7:00 PM. You can listen to the match on KLEM Radio.