David Wolman
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Buffalo Spikers Show Heart
Power Play
By David Wolman
The Prairie View volleyball team trailed 23-11 in the second game against Southeast in Saturday’s Jayhawk-Linn Invitational. Southeast was only two points away from forcing a deciding game.
For a team that went 4-34 last season, it could’ve been very easy for the Buffalos to allow Southeast to score the final two points, walk to the bench, get a drink of water and listen to the adjustments the coaching staff was going to make for the third game.
But Prairie View didn’t give up.
In the two weeks of practice leading up to Saturday’s opener, Buffalos coach Diana Oborny has been stressing fundamentals, fundamentals and more fundamentals to her team. With several new faces on her squad, that’s what Oborny had been working with her team on. That inexperience showed up Saturday, as serves hit the net during critical times and passes were not fluid, but there were also occasional flashes of brilliance.
Like the team’s rally. Paige Clinton stood behind the line and served the ball to the other side of the net. Eventually, the Buffalos huddled to briefly celebrate the point. It was the first of 11 straight points served by Clinton. She had five aces during that stretch, including three straight at the tail end. Her last ace got Prairie View to within 23-22.
“Paige Clinton stepped up and held it together for us,” Oborny said.
Things that once looked grim for the Buffalos in the game had become brighter — just briefly, however.
Southeast scored the next point for a 24-22 lead and was just one point away from forcing a third game. But if there’s one attribute the Buffalos can take from this game and used it as a building block for the rest of the season, it’s character.
After the Buffalos staved off two straight game points, Jacque Burk recorded a kill for a 25-24 lead, the first of the game for Prairie View. Then, a kill attempt by a Southeast player landed out of bounds to give Prairie View a 26-24 match win.
The Buffalos faced a similar situation earlier in the day. Iola steamrolled the Buffalos 25-10 in the first game of their match, but Prairie View responded in a big way, defeating Iola 25-11, 25-14 in the final two games to take the match.
“The kids did a nice job when they were down in points and coming back,” Oborny said. “That’s heart. You can coach the other things, like the fundamentals, but you can’t coach heart.”
— David Wolman can be reached at DavidWolman@miconews.com or 755-4151.
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For a team that went 4-34 last season, it could’ve been very easy for the Buffalos to allow Southeast to score the final two points, walk to the bench, get a drink of water and listen to the adjustments the coaching staff was going to make for the third game.
But Prairie View didn’t give up.
In the two weeks of practice leading up to Saturday’s opener, Buffalos coach Diana Oborny has been stressing fundamentals, fundamentals and more fundamentals to her team. With several new faces on her squad, that’s what Oborny had been working with her team on. That inexperience showed up Saturday, as serves hit the net during critical times and passes were not fluid, but there were also occasional flashes of brilliance.
Like the team’s rally. Paige Clinton stood behind the line and served the ball to the other side of the net. Eventually, the Buffalos huddled to briefly celebrate the point. It was the first of 11 straight points served by Clinton. She had five aces during that stretch, including three straight at the tail end. Her last ace got Prairie View to within 23-22.
“Paige Clinton stepped up and held it together for us,” Oborny said.
Things that once looked grim for the Buffalos in the game had become brighter — just briefly, however.
Southeast scored the next point for a 24-22 lead and was just one point away from forcing a third game. But if there’s one attribute the Buffalos can take from this game and used it as a building block for the rest of the season, it’s character.
After the Buffalos staved off two straight game points, Jacque Burk recorded a kill for a 25-24 lead, the first of the game for Prairie View. Then, a kill attempt by a Southeast player landed out of bounds to give Prairie View a 26-24 match win.
The Buffalos faced a similar situation earlier in the day. Iola steamrolled the Buffalos 25-10 in the first game of their match, but Prairie View responded in a big way, defeating Iola 25-11, 25-14 in the final two games to take the match.
“The kids did a nice job when they were down in points and coming back,” Oborny said. “That’s heart. You can coach the other things, like the fundamentals, but you can’t coach heart.”
— David Wolman can be reached at DavidWolman@miconews.com or 755-4151.