Centre, Hillsboro win sub-states, headed to state
Staff writers
Hillsboro and Centre High volleyball are headed to state after winning in sub-state Saturday.
Hillsboro beat Moundridge, Sterling, and Sedgwick 2-0 to earn its trip to Dodge City.
Centre bested top-seeded Elyria Christian, winning in two sets after losing in the first.
Marion’s season ended Saturday with a 25-23, 25-20 loss against Sterling.
Peabody-Burns was eliminated in the first round at sub-state at Centre after losing to Wakefield.
Hillsboro
Hillsboro is on its way to Dodge City to vie for a state title after winning sub-state for a second year running Saturday at home.
The Trojans triumphed over the Wildcats 25-7 and 25-23.
Coach Sandy Arnold said the substantial win in the first set may have made the team overconfident.
“It is sometimes easy to let down a little after a game like that and we may have done just that,” Arnold said. “Moundridge came back in the second game and played a lot better and pushed us to the brink — we only beat them 25-23.”
The near loss rekindled Hillsboro’s focus — a vital lesson in championship play.
“We just have to be mentally ready for a team to come back and play better and to make sure we play a high level of volleyball consistently,” she said.
The Trojans did a good job of not allowing their emotions to get the better of them during tight games, or when they made mistakes.
“Other than that we played pretty steady throughout the day and there were a lot of attacks and defensive plays that really got us fired up,” Arnold said.
Hillsboro has a lot of talent on its bench and all are strong servers, she said.
“They each have different skills that they bring to the team. Without any of those we would not be where we are today,” she said.
Hillsboro will face Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan Friday in Dodge City.
Centre
Centre volleyball is on its way to state for the first time since 1994.
The Cougars came back twice from first-game losses Saturday to win their 1A Division II sub-state tournament.
Centre and Rural Vista had first-round byes. In the second round, Centre lost 25-15 in the first game, but came back to win, 25-22 and 25-14.
The championship match against top-seeded Elyria Christian turned out to be a thriller, although the first game was another downer, with Centre losing 25-12.
The second game started out the same, with the Cougars trailing 4-10.
But with their fans boisterously cheering them on, they picked up their effort to surge ahead at the 15-14 mark and go on to win, 25-22.
Centre started out ahead again in the third set against Elyria 9-4 but tied the Eagles at 10-10 before regaining the lead and going on to win, 25-22.
As the team accepted its championship trophy, fans poured onto the gym floor to congratulate them and take pictures.
Seniors Lexis Brewer, Carlye Deines, and Alex Remmers; sophomores Kenide Steiner and Sarah David; and freshman Olivia Carlson played almost the entire game.
“It took all the members of the team to pull it out,” first-year coach Shelby Srajer said. “They showed great teamwork.”
Centre finished the season with an overall record of 17-17 and is seeded seventh of eight.
The team will face Central Plains Friday in White Auditorium in Emporia.
Semifinals and finals will be played Saturday.
Marion
Marion’s season ended Saturday with a 25-23, 25-20 loss against Sterling.
Jayden May, Grace Hett and Calli Burkholder were key players for the Warriors this season, coach Kris Burkholder said.
May led the team in kills while Hett was key on defense. Burkholder turned many bad passes into hits for the team.
“I think one thing this season has taught our girls is that we can compete with anyone we play and we can compete well,” Burkholder said. “I am looking for that to carry on next year.”
The warriors were 20-17 for the season.
Peabody-Burns
Peabody-Burns played Wakefield in the first round of the sub-state tournament and was eliminated in two games.
Wakefield was defeated by Elyria Christian.