In a Sept. 15 home triangular, the Bulldogs split a pair of matches, defeating Jackson Heights and losing to Jefferson County North. JCN has been receiving votes in the Kansas Volleyball Association’s Class 3A rankings.

On Thursday, McLouth traveled to Basehor-Linwood. There, MHS defeated Atchison in two games before falling to Class 4A Basehor-Linwood. The Bulldogs gave the Bobcats all they could handle as they lost both sets by just two points — 30-28 and 25-23.

Kylie Shufflebarger led MHS (10-7 entering a Tuesday triangular at Troy after The Mirror’s deadline) with 19 kills at BLHS. Jeri Holwick had a team-high 16 assists. Courtney Chilcoat finished with 10 assists and five kills.

MHS has a small gap in its upcoming schedule. The Bulldogs don’t play again until Tuesday at Valley Falls. Coach Erika Houk said she decided to eliminate some of the less competitive matches on the team’s schedule from last season in favor of playing in more tournaments and against better teams this season.

“I felt the better competition we can face, the more prepared we will be at the end of the season when our performance matters the most,” the third-year MHS coach said.

With a week off in between matches, Houk said the team will be focusing on offensive and defensive plays at practice. She hopes in that time the team’s confidence will continue to grow.

“We can’t settle for where we are at this point in the season,” Houk said. “We have to keep getting better.”