Bartek's offense leads Rockets past Lincoln High

 No comments  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

BY RON POWELL / Lincoln Journal Star

Lincoln Northeast’s volleyball team has been without standout junior middle blocker Lindsay Coupens for three weeks because of a shoulder injury.

It’s been a collective effort to replace Coupens’ offense, the Rockets’ leading hitter a year ago as a sophomore. On Tuesday night, it was junior Ashley Bartek’s turn to pick up the slack.

The middle blocker slugged a match-high 13 kills and put down five ace blocks to pace Northeast to a 25-19, 25-20, 25-23 victory against Lincoln High before an estimated 400 spectators at Ed Johnson Gym.

[+]Enlarge

“Ashley’s hitting has definitely improved,” Northeast coach Michelle Leising said of Bartek, the younger sister of former Rocket Super-Stater Brooke Bartek who now plays at Kentucky.

“She’s become more aggressive at the net and she’s doing a much better job blocking.”

Leising calls Coupens’ availability “week to week.

“We’re just waiting for the note from her doctor clearing her to play,” Leising said. “We’ve had to rearrange some things with her out, and it’s forced some kids to step up their games.”

Bartek set the pace early with six kills and an ace block in the first set as Northeast (5-11) gradually pulled away from an 11-10 lead. Setter and outside hitter Anna Kroos also played a major role in the first set with four kills, an ace serve and five assists.

Kroos, a junior, finished with nine kills, two ace serves and 15 assists. “She’s a natural born leader,” Leising said of Kroos, who also plays right side for one rotation at the net. “She gets out there and does anything we ask her to do to help the team.”

An 8-1 run midway through set two expanded a 12-10 Northeast lead to a more comfortable 20-11. Bartek had three kills and an ace block during that span, while Kroos contributed a kill and a service ace.

The lead changed hands numerous times in the competitive third set. A Northeast net violation tied it at 23, but a Lincoln High missed serve followed by a left-side kill from the Rockets’ Peyton Sheridan ended it.

Junior Taneesha Chase’s six kills and five from Joanna Harris, another junior, led a balanced Lincoln High (1-12) attack. Setter and outside hitter Jillian Jensen contributed four kills and seven assists.

Despite the loss, Links coach Lynette Rychecky was encouraged by what she saw from her team.

“This was much more competitive than the first time we played them (Northeast),” Rychecky said. “We’ve gotten better. We’re not the same team we were two weeks ago.”

Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.