Scott City volleyball finishes second in Hays

Hays, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Coming off a pair of wins on Friday, Scott City took to the court on Saturday in Hays as part of the Maroon & Gold Invitational. Facing competition from four different classifications, the Lady Beavers came away with their highest finish in the three-year history of the tournament, taking second place, and going 3-2 on the day.

To open the day, they would face Salina South. The 5A Cougars led most of the way in the first set, despite the match being tight early. Scott City got to within 15-14 before the Lady Cougars closed the set on a 10-2 run to take the match 25-16. Salina South would never trail in the second set, as they opened up a 7-1 lead to begin, and went on to take a 25-13 win to sweep the set. Ella Rumford had five kills and one block point in the loss.

The Lady Beavers turned right around to face the host school Hays High. Playing in a standing-room only auxiliary gym, Scott City trailed early 2-0, before both teams traded runs of five straight twice. Trailing 17-15, the Lady Beavers used a 6-0 run to go up 21-17, and eventually closed out the set on a 10-4 run to take the opening set 25-19. In the second set, both teams traded leads, which was a trend throughout the match. The match itself saw 15 ties and 11 lead changes. Scott City has most of the momentum early on, leading 13-9. A Hays run tied the set at 13, and they eventually led 17-15, capping off an 8-2 run. After the Lady Indians tied the set at 20, the Lady Beavers closed the set and match out with five of the final six points to sweep Hays 25-21. Kennedy Holstein had nine kills, Ella Rumford added eight and Brooklynne Zielke had four kills in the win. Alli Patton had three aces.

Scott City’s third consecutive match saw them face an opponent they played the previous day in Oakley. The Lady Beavers jumped out early in the first set to lead 5-1, before a rally pulled the Plainsmen to within 6-5. Scott City slowly made their move, and had an 8-2 run to lead 16-9, and eventually pulled away for a 25-15 opening set win. Despite trailing to Oakley early in the second set 2-0, the Lady Beavers stormed out with nine straight, and led the second set by as many as nine at 17-8. After their run, the teams played fairly even to close things out, as Scott City completed the sweep by winning 25-17. It put them at 2-1 in pool play, and in second place. Ella Rumford had eight kills, while Payton Goodman added six, and Kennedy Holstein had five kills and four aces.

On to bracket play, where Scott City met up with 3A power TMP Marian. The Lady Monarchs were the defending champions, and were 3-0 in pool play. They came out firing early and took a 6-2 lead. The Lady Beavers responded with six straight to lead 8-6. Scott City would lead 10-9, before a 9-2 run put them up 19-12. Thomas More Prep made a run to get to within 22-20 late in the first set, when the Lady Beavers closed the set with three straight to take a 25-20 opening set win. Scott City would lead for a good chunk of the second set, going up 13-8 midway. The Lady Monarchs came back to tie the set with five straight out of a timeout, and actually took the lead at 18-17. After that, the Lady Beavers would lead 19-18 and 21-9, before TMP tied the second set at 21. Scott City would find a way to close the set out and the match by winning 25-23 in a thriller. Kennedy Holstein led the attacking with nine kills with one ace and one block point, while Payton Goodman had six kills, and Brooklynne Zielke had four kills and an ace.

The championship match would see Scott City take on 6A Olathe West. It would be the first three-set match of the young season for the Lady Beavers. The Lady Owls had no issues in the opening set, as they took the first set 25-5. Scott City would be a different team to begin the second set, scoring three of the first four points. They trailed 7-5, before a 9-1 run put them up 14-8. However Olathe West flew back into the set, going form down 16-10, to finding themselves up 21-20 late in the second period. After Kennedy Holstein’s kill tied the set at 21, she would serve up four consecutive aces to help the Lady Beavers force a third set with a 25-21 win. The Lady Owls trailed early 2-1 in the third set, and they would use several big runs to take a 25-9 third set, winning the tournament title. Kennedy Holstein had four kills and four aces in the championship match to go along with two point blocks, while Brooklynne Zielke and Ella Rumford had three kills.

Scott City is 5-2 on the year, and will have 10 days off before hosting Ulysses in a dual on Tuesday, September 7.

Coach Lauren Robinson