Area Sub-State Volleyball Teams Qualify For State

Garden City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Three southwest Kansas area teams qualified for their respective state tournaments this coming Friday. In Class 2A, Kiowa County will be heading to Emporia, while in Class 1A-Division I, Bucklin is heading to Hays, and Ingalls will be going to the Class 1A-Division II State Tournament, also in Hays, on Friday.

In the Class 4A Sub-State in Ulysses, the Ulysses Lady Tigers came in as the top seed but fell to the eventual sub-state champion Buhler in the semi-finals. Ulysses won their opening match over Nickerson 25-8, 25-11, before falling to the Lady Crusaders 25-20, 25-16. Buhler defeated Hugoton in their opening match 25-11, 25-21 and defeated Pratt in the final 25-23, 23-25, 26-24. Ulysses ended their season at 29-10, while Hugoton’s season finished at 18-17.

At Hoisington, the Holcomb Lady Longhorns made it to the sub-state championship, before falling to host school Hoisington in the finals in two sets. As the top seed, the Lady Longhorns started off by defeating TMP-Marian 25-10, 25-8, swept Scott City in the semi-finals 25-20, 25-9, before falling in the finals to the Lady Cardinals 25-15, 32-30. Scott City defeated Cimarron in the first round 26-24, 25-16, before losing to Holcomb. Lakin defeated league foe Southwestern Heights in the opener 25-16, 25-14, before dropping to Hoisington 25-20, 25-20 in the semi-final round. With their seasons concluding, Holcomb ended their campaign at 30-8, Cimarron 26-10, Scott City 22-15, Lakin 27-10 and Southwestern Heights finished at 17-17.

Most of the area Class 2A schools were at the Meade sub-state, where the Lady Mavericks of Kiowa County breezed through. Kiowa County started off with a 25-7, 25-4 win over Syracuse, a 25-15, 25-10 win over Elkhart in the semi-finals, and knocked off host school Meade in the championship match in two sets. Elkhart advanced to the semi-finals by knocking off South Gray 25-17, 25-9. The Lady Buffaloes of Meade knocked off Stanton County 25-9, 25-22 and took down Hodgeman County in the semi finals 21-25, 26-24, 25-18. Hodgeman County won their opening match against Sublette 25-12, 25-16. After Saturday, Kiowa County is 35-4, and will be in Emporia at the Class 2A State Tournament Friday. Meade ends their season at 13-17, South Gray 11-24, Elkhart 11-23, Hodgeman County 17-17, Sublette 6-25 and Stanton County 8-24.

In Oberlin, the Leoti-Wichita County Lady Indians dropped their opening match to Ellis 25-12, 25-14 to end their season at 5-25. Hill City won the tournament.

At Sterling, Ness City was eliminated in the semi-final round by Pratt-Skyline 25-21, 25-16 to end their season at 14-16. The Lady Eagles began competition by knocking off Inman 25-19, 24-26, 25-19. Pratt-Skyline won the 2A Sub-State Tournament.

For the Class 1A-Division I tournament at Bucklin, the host school Red Aces qualified for the State Tournment in Hays on Friday. Bucklin had a first round bye, defeated Satanta 25-14, 25-15 and top seed Spearville 25-20, 19-25, 25-22, and will take a 25-11 record to Hays. The Lady Lancers also had a first round bye, and knocked off South Central 25-7, 25-13 in the semi-final match. South Central eliminated Deerfield 25-10, 25-12 to open up competition. Satanta held off Minneola in three sets 25-27, 25-18, 25-17 in their opening tournament match. Ending their seasons were Spearville at 31-7, South Central 9-23, Deerfield 9-28, Satanta 13-30 and Minneola 0-31.

Kinsley competed in the Class 1A-Division I tournament in St. John, where they were defeated in the first round by Macksville 25-16, 25-13, and ended their season at 5-25. St. John won the tournament.

Wheatland/Grinnell won the Class 1A-Division II Sub-State Tournament in Dighton. The Lady Thunderhawks knocked off host school Dighton in the finals. Dighton dumped Healy 25-5, 25-10 in their opener, before sweeping Palco in the semi-finals 25-21, 25-19. Western Plains eliminated Greeley County 25-12, 25-8 in the quarterfinals, before falling to Wheatland/Grinnell 25-8, 25-17 in the next round. After the day was over, Dighton’s season ended at 15-20, Healy 0-31, Western Plains 10-22 and Greeley County 5-26.

In Rolla, the Ingalls Lady Bulldogs punched their ticket to Hays Friday with wins over Rolla 25-20, 25-21 and Moscow in the finals 24-26, 25-9, 25-16. Moscow and Ashland had first round byes, and the Lady Wildcats swept Ashland 25-21, 26-24 in the semi-finals. Rolla upended Fowler in the lone first round match 31-29, 20-25, 25-19. Ingalls will take a 30-9 record into the State Tournament Fridya. Moscow ends their season at 19-17, Ashland 20-13, Fowler 15-20 and Rolla 12-21.