Goodland wins Scott City Sub-State Tournament

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Saturday’s Class 3A Sub-State Tournament at the Scott Community Events Center had the makings to be a tournament that could be well-balanced. It would turn out that way throughout, as the tournament saw the teams go for long rallies and play scrappy and hard throughout. While a seventh seed in Holcomb would make the finals, the top seed Goodland Cowgirls would sweep the field, en route to their first state tournament berth since 2015.

Scott City would start off the afternoon with a match against Southwestern Heights in the four vs five matchup. The Lady Beavers opened up with a 4-2 lead to begin the first set, and Southwestern Heights rallied to take a 6-5 lead. That would be the last time that the Lady Beavers trailed in the opening set. They used a 5-0 run to lead 10-6. Leading 14-12 after the Lady Mustangs scored three straight, Scott City put the hammer down, using four consecutive Alli Brunswig aces, on their way to closing out the first set on a 11-2 run to take a 25-14 victory. Southwestern Heights led 4-2 early in the second set, before the Lady Beavers scored six unanswered to take the lead at 8-4. They never trailed after that. Scott City tried putting the Lady Mustangs away in the second set, but were unable to. The Lady Beavers led 20-14, before a late rally by Southwestern Heights pulled them to within 23-19. Scott City settled down and closed out the match with a 25-19 win. Ella Rumford had six kills, while Kennedy Holstein added five. Alli Brunswig had four of Scott City’s seven service aces in the match.

The Lady Beavers turned around to face the top seed Goodland. Entering Saturday, the Cowgirls and Scott City battled to three tough matches during the season, with Goodland winning all three. It would be a trend that continued. The Lady Beavers opened up the first set leading 9-4, going on a 7-0 run. However, the Cowgirls responded with a 9-1 run to take a 13-10 lead midway through the first set. The teams traded points for a good portion, until Goodland pulled away to get set point at 24-20. Scott City made it 24-23, but the Cowgirls got the final point to take the first set 25-23. It would be a good start to begin the second set for the Lady Beavers, as they went up 6-2 early on, but Goodland slowly chipped away. Trailing 14-13 halfway through the second set, the Cowgirls took the lead for good, scoring four straight points. Scott City fought back to tie the set at 18, but Goodland would score the final seven points to advance to the sub-state finals with a 25-18 victory. Ella Rumford had seven kills and Kennedy Holstein added six. Amber Latta had three aces for the Lady Beavers, who ended their season at 22-15.

In the championship match, Goodland would face seventh-seed Holcomb. It was a championship match controlled by the Cowgirls throughout. They trailed in the first set early, and never fell behind the rest of the match, as they defeated the Lady Longhorns 25-16, 25-19. Holcomb came in and surprised Lakin in the first set 25-17, 25-20 in the first round, and defeated Colby in the semi finals 25-18, 25-20 to advance to the sub-state finals. They ended their season at 19-18.

Goodland will travel to Hays on Tuesday to take on TMP-Marian in the round of eight of the Class 3A State Tournament. TMP-Marian defeated Phillipsburg in the sub-state championship in Russell. With COVID-19 concerns this year, the state volleyball tournament will have a play-in match on Tuesday, with the winner of the best-of-five match to advance to the state tournament site in Hutchinson on Saturday, October 31. Only four teams will play on the final day of the state tournament. The Scott City sub-state was paired with the Russell sub-state to match up in the first round.

First Round
Goodland def Cimarron 25-23, 25-23; Scott City def Southwestern Heights 25-14, 25-19; Holcomb def Lakin 25-17, 25-20; Colby def Hugoton 29-27, 26-24
Semi-Finals
Goodland def Scott City 25-23, 25-18; Holcomb def Colby 25-18, 25-20
Finals
Goodland def Holcomb 25-16, 25-19

Scott City Coach Shelby Kite