It just wasn’t Ventura’s night on Monday, Sept. 17, when they traveled to Britt to play West Hancock in a non-conference volleyball match-up.
“We couldn’t get anything going. We were really flat most of the night,” said Coach Lora Tabbert. “I was proud of how the girls kept fighting and never gave up, but it just wasn’t our night.”
Ventura dropped the first game, 25-21, but had a great second game, defeating the Eagles, 25-16. Ventura couldn’t carry the momentum and dropped the next two games, 25-19 and 25-16.
“Our attacking just wouldn’t come around. We were doing very well on the net defensively, but offensively we just couldn’t get rolling,” said Tabbert.
Kaley Imhoff and Megan Schuler had excellent nights from the service line. Imhoff was a perfect 14 of 14 with one ace, while Schuler was 20 of 21 with three aces.
“Our serving continues to be one of our strong points,” said Tabbert.
Coach Tabbert credited Allie Schuler and Chelsea Mathews for their blocking and digging abilities in the game. Allie Schuler led the team with 18 digs.

Ventura vs. Clay Central-Everly
It was an exciting night on the road for the Lady Vikes when they traveled to play conference rival Clay Central-Everly on Tuesday, Sept. 18. The evenly matched teams battled back and forth before the Lady Vikes finally claimed the victory.
The Lady Vikes dropped the first game, 25-18. They battled back in the second game to win, 25-22. Then it was the Mavericks’ turn, topping Ventura 25-13. The Lady Vikes pulled off another close victory to capture the fourth game, 25-22, and claimed the match with a 15-11 victory in the fifth game.
“What a night of volleyball,” said Coach Lora Tabbert. “The girls came out flat like the night before, but they really picked it up. We hit a low in the third game, but we really came around and played our game in the fourth and fifth.
The Schuler sisters led the team in various categories. Allie Schuler had a team high 24 digs and at the service line was a perfect 15/15 with three aces. Megan Schuler was also flawless at the service line, going 16/16. She also led the team in assists with 38.
Kaley Imhoff was 13/14 at the service line with three aces. She also picked up 24 digs. Mandy Hackenmiller and Sarah Hedberg did well defensively, picking up 12 and 11 digs respectively.
“I am so impressed with how the girls came together as a team and really started to communicate more. We talked more on the court tonight than we have any other games,” said Tabbert.
The coach also credited the play of Allie Schuler, Imhoff, Hackenmiller and Hedberg for covering the back court very effectively.

Ventura vs. CWL
The Lady Vikes ended a busy week of action by defeating Corwith-Wesley-LuVerne in three games, 25-16, 25-13 and 25-14.
“The girls really played well tonight,” said Coach Lora Tabbert. “It was a slower paced game, but we continued to set it up and play our game throughout the night.”
Kaley Imhoff and Sarah Hedberg had strong nights at the service line, both with perfect stats. Imhoff was 23/23 with six ace serves. Hedberg was 18/18 with eight acres.
“Kaley yet again was amazing at the line, serving a perfect game. Sarah also came back on with a great performance,” said Coach Tabbert.
The coach also credited Chelsea Mathews for having her timing down on both hitting and blocking. Mathews was 18 of 21 attacking with seven kills. She also had 11 solo blocks and one assisted block.
The Lady Vikes are undefeated in the conference and have a 7-6 overall record. Ventura hosts Harris-Lake Park and Armstrong-Ringsted on Thursday, Sept. 27, for a varsity match-up beginning at 5 p.m.