jmetcalfe@delphosherald.com

KALIDA — Six Kalida volleyball players played their final home matches at home Thursday night, with Jefferson the non-conference foe.
The host LadyCats grabbed a 25-9, 25-18, 25-16 sweep to end the regular season at 15-7.
Those six 12th-graders were Amy Smith (5 kills, 5 digs, 3 blocks), Bailey Dangler (8 kills, 3 aces, 12 assists), Kayla Siefker (4 kills, 6 digs), Carrie Gerding, libero Julia Vandemark (13 digs) and Andrea Bellmann.
“We all cried before we came out. It’s a sentimental time,” Kalida coach Sherry Luebrecht began. “This has been an enjoyable experience; I didn’t know what to expect when I came on board. The skills have always been there but figuring out what I need to do was key. These seniors have guided me as much as I’ve guided them this year.”
The teams battled on relatively even terms at the start of each set.
“We did play well to start each set. At various points, we went through our mid-set bump that still happens far too often and we just can’t seem to finish,” Jefferson coach Joy Early said. “We just couldn’t fight through, though we kept battling. That’s another positive I saw. They have a lot of good hitters and it’s tough to defend; it would be easy to give up but we don’t. That’s good to see.”