SK Sweeps Boone

The Neers wrapped up their third match in as many nights as they hosted the Boone County Rebels at the Joe tonight.  Another nice weeknight crowd turned out for the match.

The Neers put the final seal of approval as they sweep the Lady Rebs. 

Freshman came out on top by scores of 21-10 and 21-14.  Angelina Picone with 12 service points and 4 aces.  Avery Niehaus had 5 kills and Mattie Crisp with 3 kills. 

The JV had a marathon match as they came out on top with scores of 19-21, 24-22 and 21-14.  Emily Popham had 3 kills and MacKenzie Bard logged 6 assists. 

In varsity action the Neers started slowly in the first set.  They fell behind Boone by  7 points at 21-14 before they came roaring back behind the service of Carson Elliott and finished with the 25-22 win.  The set was the tone for the rest of the night.  SK kept pace with Boone in the second but slowly pulled away for the 25-21 win.  SK cruised in the third set but let Boone close the gap for a 25-17 SK win.  Stat leaders for the night included Kaitlin Murray  - 10 kills,  4 blocks; Haley Robinson – 7 kills, 3 blocks; Ellie Smith -  5 kills; Sophia Dunn -   26 Assists and one powerful win at the net and Kelsey Schmiade with 14 digs and one nice assist to her grandmother. 

 

Spending a little birthday time watching v-ball.

This is never good.



What?


Never get tired of these.


Dunner with a lot of hustle tonight.  I particularly liked her power play at the net.


Here she does a little salon work before the match.



What's missing here?

Update from NDA Match

Here is some more information regarding last night’s matches:

The frosh went down by scores of 11-21 and 15-21.  The JV lost 9-21 and 8-21.

Some varsity stats included:

Kaitlin Murray -  8 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace 

Sophie Dunn - 19 assists 

Rachael Figgins - 6 kills,  4 blocks

Amarah Nicholson-  2 kills,  4 Blocks

Kelsey Schmiade -  17 digs

Interesting thought; SK jumped out to a nice lead on the Pandas in the third set.  The Neers made several errors and maybe got content with their 2^nd set win when actually they probably had a chance to regroup and take the final set.   NDA is very good and capitalized on the way SK was playing in the set but it had to make you wonder.  The key to the way SK played had to do with their starts as they jumped out by at least 4 points in every set.  

Always interesting to get another team's take on the match:  http://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/?u=PANDAVOLLEYBALL-1&s=htosports&t=c   

 

The girls return to the Joe tonight for a Tri-match against a very good Boone County team. 

 

 

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Neers Rise Up to Challenge

Wow, Wow and Wow. What a night at the Joe!  The SK Volleyball teams hosted the Notre Dame Academy Pandas at the Joe tonight.  The Pandas are a perennial state contender and have been nationally ranked in the Max Preps National High School Volleyball polls this year.  The SK kids took to the floor and what was interesting was they looked actually looked relaxed and confident; certainly not cocky but just confident.   I’ll be honest, when I walked in the gym, I was hoping the Neers would just compete.  They did that and more.      

The team looked great in warm-ups but when the ball went up for real; the SK girls looked ready to play.  They were loose, they were having fun, and they gave it their all as they pulled out a win in the second set by a final score of 25-20.  Pandemonium broke out as the girls jumped, hugged and went crazy in celebration.  The Neers dropped the first and third set but it really didn’t matter.  They competed and gave the Pandas nothing.  I can't remember watching sports at any level or type where I have ever seen a team that lost any happier.  The excitement of the girls and the players defined what high school sports should be about.  Competing as hard as you can, sharing time outside of the classroom with your friends in a positive outlet and most importantly, learning to rise to a challenge.  Congrats to each player and to Coach Atwood.  You were all awesome tonight as you all showed some real passion.  

At the end of the night, the coolest thing is the team that was the happiest was the team that lost.  I’m certainly not saying it is more fun to lose but the SK girls hit their challenge head-on and met it and they were proud of themselves.  They will remember this night for a long time and safe to say will remember this night over a lot of your high school career wins.  (Lots of parents, relatives and friends in the stands who were proud of you as well.) 

So many special things that stood out tonight and after the match was over, nobody really wanted to leave the Joe.  Besides the second set win, it was neat to see the entire team contribute and celebrate.  It was awesome to see seniors Kaitlin Murray and Sophie Dunn hugging each other after the match.  Kaitlin had tears in her eyes she was so happy and Dunner had her patented ear to ear grin.  Kelsey Schmiade; no surprise to anyone, was just laughing-out loud at times, even when the ball came at her at about 110 mph, Megan Dischar and Kelsey Holland who  Coach Atwood called on and they delivered awesome passes without looking  a bit nervous, Ellie Smith who looked like she wanted to serve because she knew NDA was struggling to get a pass off her serve, Amarah Nicholson, Rachael Figgins and Haley Robinson who went to the net and played strong blocking some absolute rockets, Biz and Carson who stuck their nose in to some blistering kills for digs and Emily Popham who had the clipboard on the bench but had her hands clasped together in hope that the 25^th point in the second set was going to show up.  Finally, Coach Atwood hit the right buttons and pushed and challenged her players to help them reach their goal.  Oh, I almost forgot the frosh and JV in the stands who were cheering away.     

Neer V’ballers; you just showed yourselves what you are capable of; there’s a spot on the wall with your names on it.  Dream, focus and go get it.  

 

Yes, that says SK 16 and NDA 6- prompting an NDA TO; pinch me.    

Can't really say anything else about these.

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SK Take 2 out of 3 from Cats

The Lady Neers took to the road tonight for a match against the Walton Verona Bearcats.  SK soundly beat the Cats this past weekend at the Cake Classic.  Tonight’s match had 32^nd District seeding implications. 

The frosh had trouble with WV out of the gate as they went down by scores of 13-21, 21-14 and 19-21.  Avery Niehaus and Celia Mac led the frosh with 8 and 5 kills respectively.

The JV team got the ship back on course as they beat a scrappy Walton team in two sets, 21-19 and 21-17.

The varsity team came out smoking and jumped all over the Cats.  SK takes the match by scores of 25-9, 25-10 and 25-17.  SK moves out to 3-0 half-way through District play.

Stats for the night:

Kaitlin Murray  12 kills, 2 blocks, 4 aces

Sophie Dunn  32 assists, 2 aces, 3 digs

Haley Robinson  10 kills, 3 blocks, 3 assists

Rachael Figgins  4 kills,  4 blocks, 4 assists

Ellie Smith  9 kills,  2 aces

Amarah Robinson  4 kills,  4 blocks

Kelsey Schmiade 7 digs, 2 aces

If you ever been to a SK volleyball match, one of the more entertaining things to do is watch the expressions of Schmee.  She puts skin on the floor diving all over the place but always seems to get up with smile.  Since a lot of the shots on the Blog have been at the net this year, I’ve kind of slighted Schmee in the photo department.  Kels, here’s a few of your smiles and expressions I found tonight.  Enjoy!  

 

 

 

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Momma Knows Best

The Neers headed to Hebron for a match-up with the Conner Cougars after a set of nice emotional wins last night against perhaps their biggest rivals.  Tonight ‘s game had its own storyline as mother meets daughter on the court as Coach Andrea Atwood was coaching against her daughter’s team, freshman Deandra Atwood for the Cougars. 

The Conner hex seemed to be in play for the younger Neers as the Freshman and JV teams took it on the chin to the Cougars.  The freshman went down by scores of 19-21, 21-17 and 14-21.  Jessica McDonald served 17 points and 5 aces and Alley Niehaus notched 6 kills.  Serve receive errors were the Neers nemesis as they were only successful with 44%, 59% and 26%.  The JV came out in the first set and jumped out to a big lead.  Conner would regroup and come back although SK held on for the 21-18 lead. Conner would reverse the score in the second set as they came out on top by the same score.  The third set saw the JV’ers fall down big with a late rally that came up short as they fell 14-21. 

While there was excitement of mother on one side and daughter  on the other for the varsity match, the Neers came out flat.  The Cougars were scrappy but many of their points were coming off SK miscues.  It is always tough coming off an emotional win like last night and this looked to be the case tonight.  Conner led for much of the first set but the Neers played tough down the stretch.  The game was tied at 23 but SK scores the final two points for the 25-23 win. 

Little Sally Walker showed up between the two sets as the team broke into song and dance.  Coach Atwood crashed the circle and took her turn.  No photo evidence to prove it though.  The girls seemed to loosen up after the routine and came out in the set and jumped out to a 3-0 lead.  SK would lead by as many as 7 and held on for a 25-19 win, preserving a match win for the program where the varsity team has struggled for W’s in recent years.  SK's varsity record moves out to 15-3 for the season.   

Some stats for the night, birthday girl Kaitlin Murray had 6 Kills,  2 aces,  4 digs, Sophie  Dunn  had 18 assists,  2 aces, Amarah Nicholson  had 6 blocks and Haley Robinson had 5 kills,  2 blocks. 

After the match, the team celebrated Coach Atwood’s 100^th SK win with a surprise cake out in the Conner hallway ;  good time had by all. 

The Neers will be back to the friendly confines of the Joe tomorrow night as the Pendleton Wildcats head north for the match. 

   
A very impressive night of play for the Conner Atwood.

Ellie, Rach and Amarah doing their warm-up routine.

Murray with a fly across the gym. 



While not the Neers best match of the season, the girls played big when they needed to.


Happy 18th!



#101 at the top.



Surprise!


The whole program celebrates.

Coach Atwood Celebrates 100th SK Win as Neers Sweep Eagles

The Neers hosted cross county rival Scott in a match at the Joe tonight as the best crowd of the year turned out to support their teams.    Parents, grandparents, friends and yes, some good representation of students from both schools were on hand for this anticipated match.  

 

The frosh got things off on a good note besting Scott by scores of 21-15 and 21-10 moving their season record out to an impressive 12-3.  Kayla McDonald served 10 points and 4 aces, Angelina Picone served 7 points and 2 aces.  Brynn O’Brien and Mattie Crisp each had 3 kills.  

 

The JV kept the momentum going by taking the Eagles by scores of 21-17 and 21-18 .    Kahlee Fuehner lead the way with 7 kills.  

 

After getting all of their shoes on, the varsity took to the floor looking for a little revenge after Scott bested the Neers in straight sets in the Bluegrass Invitational a couple of weeks ago in Lexington.  No doubt that SK looked like they were bringing a better mental game in this one before the first serve even took place.    

 

The energy transferred onto the floor as the first match was closely contested.  SK led by 2-3 points for the majority of the set until they opened the door for Scott, giving up the tie at 23.  SK would take the final two points to pull out the 25-23 win and establish some nice momentum going into the next set.  A nice win that set the tone for the night.     

 

SK jumped all over the Eagles in the second set leading by as many as 10 points.  Scott seemed to let SK take control of the match as the Pioneers cruise to a fairly easy 25-16 win.  

 

The Neers were on the floor early before the third set started.  As they waited for Scott to take the floor, they looked almost a little bit too relaxed.  The Eagles have been struggling as late, getting swept in their last two matches, and weren’t about to let SK make it 3 in a row.  Scott got scrappy in the third set and pulled out a win.  A tip of the Neer cap to Kelsey Schmiade who made some acrobatic punches to keep some volleys going in the set.  The junior Neer’s antics; not sure what else to call them, seemed to reenergize SK as they did close the set out with some nice momentum in the L.  One thing about volleyball, even if you lose a set, it is always nice to seize some mo at the end of the set and SK definitely did this in the set.    

 

SK came out in the fourth set with a more focused look and took an immediate lead.  They continued to stretch it out and took a commanding lead that they wouldn’t relinquish as they put they threw the hammer and closed out for a final convincing win of 25-14.    

 

Stats for tonights match; Rachael Figgins  7 kills,  3 blocks, Haley Robinson  7 kills,  5 blocks, Ellie  Smith   5 Kills, 3 Blocks,  2 aces, Sophie Dunn   25 assists,  3 aces and Kelsey Schmiade   with 12 digs,   2 aces. 

 

While it is always good to best your rival in any sport, the win took on even more significance as the varsity win marked Coach Andrea Atwood’s 100^th win as SK’s coach.  Congrats coach to Coach Atwood and the entire SK program. 

Teachers Kentrup and Gilbert on their feet trying to inspire the students to do likewise. 

 

Celebrating point in the first set.



She might have had trouble getting them on before the match started but the message was clear.  Good for you 4.



Fig with one of her points on the night. 


A raucous SK student body.  C'mon man.


Dunner celebrating one of her aces on the night.


Amarforce with some strong play in the 4th set. 


Coach Atwood liking what she was seeing in the last set. 


Yeah buddy!

Neers Sweep and Learn!

The Lady Neer v-ball teams headed across 536 and the mighty Lickin’ for a match-up with the Campbell County Camels.  SK had just played the Camels in the Bluegrass Invitational in Lexington this past weekend on a varsity level. 

The Frosh team got things started off on the right hump by jumping all over the Camels in two sets.  SK wins by scores of 21-12 and 21-12.  Angelina Picone served 9 points with 3 aces, Avery Niehaus with 8 points, 2 Aces and 2 kills, Celia Mac led SK with 7 kills.  The JV team kept the mo going by also winning in two sets. 

Now for the varsity.  Let’s start with a little overdue sports analysis.  There are a few things about the team I’ve noticed this season.  1.  These are a nice bunch of girls.  Maybe too nice at times.  I know, a good problem for a sports team.   2. They don’t have a killer instinct.  Not to be gruesome but the team will get up on teams and then let up, often allowing the team to come back.  3.  They haven’t learned how to fight back and come back.  4.  Finally, they haven’t learned how to win.  Maybe a little cliché but that’s what I’ve seen through the lens.  

Back to tonight’s action.  In the aforementioned match-up with the Camels on Saturday, the Neers came out on top 2-1.  The win was following the Neers worst match of the season where they lost to Scott in two straight games.  The win against Campbell County on Saturday though seemed to get the Neers out of a little bit of funk they have been in….or did it? 

As they took to the floor, one had to wonder if they were going to be able keep things going.  SK looked good early and took a nice lead.  SK was serving for a win at 24-23 but made mistakes down the stretch and would go on to lose in extra points by a 30-28 final.  The Neers didn’t and finish when they had the chance and you kind of had the feeling, oh no, here comes the funk again.   

In the second set, the Neers came out and flat out laid a beat down on the Camels.  SK jumped up 13-3 and never let up.  They cruised to an easy 25-11 win and had the Camels totally out of synch.  OK, some progress as they showed some life not only stepping on the Camels when they had the chance but they didn’t allow the first set loss get them down.  A very nice win. 

In the third set, SK would trail by at least 6 early in the match and 4 late as Campbell County went up 23-19.  Not looking good for SK but enter Biz Manser, the junior sent a variety of serves over the net that had the Camels off balance.  Amarah Nicholson would finish with a sweep to cap off a 25-23 come from behind win. 

On to the fourth set.  Up 2-1, I had the feeling that we’d be heading back to Kenton County with match win.  The Camels thought otherwise.  They jumped all over SK, going up by a score of 19-9.  Any thoughts of making to my favorite chili parlor, Empress Chili in Alexandria, were fading.  Enter Manser once again.  Biz would rattle off a whopping 16 points as the Neers put together a comeback even better than the third set and came away with an unbelievable 25-19 win. 

Manser would serve an amazing 26 points in the last two games.  She would finish 12 aces, 12 digs for the night.  Sophie Dunn would rack up 55 assists, 11 digs; SK Hammer Kaitlin Murray would have 23 kills, 15 digs, 3 blocks and Kelsey Schmiade was pronounced correctly all night long and finished with 25 digs. 

Some nice stats but in the end, this team revealed a few things to themselves tonight.  They stepped on their opponents when they had the chance, they fought back not only once but twice, and finally, they learned how to win and win as a team.  It was an exciting night and one of those matches where they need to package this and build on it.  Absolutely outstanding job girls and goodbye clichés.  Oh yes, I got my Empress Chili as I pulled in to the lot 5 minutes before they closed. 

The Neers play in a tourney this weekend at Scott.  They are in a pool with some very tough competition.  Come out and support the girls. 

A few sample pics over on Photography by Fig Facebook Page.   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.614420335276385.1073741841.368288529889568&type=1&l=6891f5d15e