The Mean Green Machine is back — or at least it was Saturday in Russell. The top-ranked Lady Oiler volleyball team emerged from a 2-week quarantine only to suffer losses to ranked teams from Nickerson and Ellinwood on Sept. 12. Saturday the girls got back to the top with a 4-0 run at the Russell tournament, defeating Norton 25-17, 25-19 for the title.

“We knew coming in as the smallest school we had a lot to play up against,” said Lady Oiler coach Lisa Crites. “It was nice just seeing the adjustments the girls made throughout the day and seeing they are full of fight.”

With COVID-19 restrictions, the 8-team tournament was split into two locations. Central Plains opened at Russell High School with a 3-set win against Goodland. After another 3-set win over Hoisington, the Lady Oilers handled Russell in two sets to advance to the championship match against Norton. The Lady Jays went 3-0 in pool play at Russell Middle School.

Norton brought a lot of height to the match with three players listed a 5-11 or taller, and two climbing above six feet. That helped level out the match midway through the first set as neither side ever led by more than three points.

The tide began to turn when Lady Oiler freshman Kashlin Beck put down a ball for a 12-12 score. Senior Callie Zink served for the next several points with an ace and help up front from junior Riley Thompson and junior Shaylah Kempke. All of a sudden the Central Plains lead was 20-13. Senior Lexi Oeser provided three points down the stretch to secure the first set 25-17.

Junior Kassidy Nixon took over early in the second set with the first four Lady Oiler points en route to a 4-2 lead. Norton stayed close at 10-9 before Oeser put down a stuff and spike to grow the gap back to 13-9.

Central Plains led by as many as seven points at 16-9 before the Lady Jays fought back one more time, eventually leveling the score at 19 on an ace. Norton made a mistake on serve and that was the beginning of the end. Kempke aced the next serve for a 21-19 lead. Nixon put down the next ball and Oeser provided the next three points at the net to finish off the Jays.

“It was very nice,” Crites said of the quick win. “I felt like our defense finally started picking up on some cues and making some good adjustments on the back row. The team really played well together.”

Central Plains opened the day with a 16-25, 25-23, 25-18 win against another tall team in Goodland. The Lady Oilers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first set but Goodland took its first lead at 5-4 and never trailed again in a convincing first set.

The Lady Oilers again led 2-0 in the second set before trailing 16-10 midway through and 19-13 into the final third. Central Plains got the point at 21-16 to get Oeser on serve. The senior aced the next three serves and she got help up front as Nixon and Beck each put down stuffs and senior Ryenne Cunningham added a point on offense. The result was a 22-21 lead.

“When they play as a team and they work as a team, they’re amazing,” Crites said. “When we start worrying about who made the mistake instead of just assuring the team we’ve got the next play — things go a lot better when we play as a unit.”

A Nixon hit gave the Lady Oilers a set point and Cunningham followed with a kill two plays later to send the match to a third set.

Central Plains had better luck there, leading 3-0 after a pair of Kempke aces. Three Oeser points midway through the set kept the gap at 14-9, and Kempke served up two more aces and a third serve led to an Oeser stuff and 18-10 score. The Cowgirls got as close as 19-16 before the Lady Oilers pulled back away.

Central Plains’ other big match of the day came against Barton County rival Hoisington. The Lady Cardinals ended the day at 10-2 overall on the season, and opened the match with a 25-22 win in the first set.

The Lady Oilers led most of the way in the second, including a 12-7 score after hits from freshman Krystal Weeks and Cunningham. Hoisington battled back for an 18-17 lead but it was Thompson coming up big down the stretch with a hit and two aces to set up Nixon’s stuff for the 25-21 set.

The Lady Cardinals led 13-8 in the final set before Central Plains made its move. Points from Nixon and Oeser gave the Lady Oilers an 18-17 advantage, and Beck had a big stuff in the final two points to help secure the 25-19 win.