Cuba High School’s volleyball team appears to be hitting its stride early in the season. The Lady Wildcats defeated Gasconade Valley Conference (GVC) opponents Bourbon and Belle Sept. 8 and Sept. 10, respectively, to move its record to 6-2 on the season.

The Lady Cats didn’t just squeak by. They won each match in straight sets. Cuba won six of its last seven games after falling to Owensville in its season opener. The Lady Cats’ junior varsity team is also on a roll after earning its seventh straight victory to advance to 7-1 on the season.

Cuba hosted Salem Sept. 14, which will be detailed in next week’s edition. The Lady Cats will travel to Cadet Sept. 17 to take on Kingston and return home Sept. 19 to host the Cuba Varsity Volleyball Tournament. The Black and Gold will have a long day of action, beginning with an 8 a.m. matchup versus St. James. Cuba will then play Bourbon at 10:15 a.m. and Licking at 2:45 p.m. The top teams in the tournament will compete in semifinal games at 4:45 p.m. and a 6 p.m. Championship game is scheduled.

Sept. 8 vs. Bourbon

After four days off from competition, the Lady Wildcats traveled down Route 66 to take on Gasconade Valley Conference (GVC) foe Bourbon in a road matchup.

Cuba’s junior varsity team set the tone for what was to follow with back-to-back 25-16 victories in each of the first sets to win the match. The win was the sixth straight victory for the Lady Cats’ JV squad under coach Cami Myers.

Cuba’s varsity team was also in control throughout its competition against the Lady Warhawks. The Lady Cats won the first set 25-10, before emerging victorious in the second set 25-15. Bourbon played its best in the third set, but Cuba was still able to earn a 25-21 win for a match win in straight sets. The Lady Cats moved to 5-2 on the season with the victory and Bourbon dropped to 3-4-1.

Senior Harley Pilkenton led Cuba’s balanced attack with eight kills, eight digs and eight serves received. Mya Garbo had eight serves received, seven digs, three kills and one ace; Jaylen Haffer added five kills, eight serves received, five digs and two blocks; Justice Evrard chipped in four kills, five serves received, four digs, two aces and one block; Allison Heads had 11 assists and four digs; Brooke Echols contributed eight assists and five aces; and Addison McGinnis had four kills, three digs and received four serves. 

Sept. 10 vs. Belle

Two days later, Cuba traveled to Belle to take on another GVC opponent, the Belle Lady Tigers. Last season, the Lady Cats fell three sets to one in Belle. This year was a different story, as the high-powered Cuba team swept the Lady Tigers in straight sets to earn a victory and a joyous bus ride home.

The Lady Cats won 25-13, 25-13 and 25-10, outscoring the Lady Tigers 75-36 overall in a match where they maintained control throughout.

Haffer had 12 kills, seven serves received, four digs and a team-high four blocks at the net. Evrard was dominant as a server, racking up a season-high eight aces to go along with seven serves received, six digs and five kills.

Pilkenton added six kills, five digs and four aces. Garbo received six serves and had four kills. Heads had 11 assists and four digs. Echols chipped in eight assists and three aces. Brooklyn Tate had three aces, three digs, two serves received, two assists and one block, and a strong all-around performance. Statistics weren’t available for the Lady Tigers.

Cuba’s junior varsity team won 25-8 and 25-21 in the first matchup of the evening between the Lady Cats and Lady Tigers.