Goessel wins its own invitational

By NICHOLAS KIMBALL and DELBERT PETERS

Staff writers

Goessel won its own weekend invitational, Hillsboro took second in a separate invitational, and the rest of the county teams captured a few victories.

Goessel

For the first time in seven years, Goessel’s volleyball team won its home tournament. The Bluebirds needed two victories over Sedgwick the same day to claim the title.

Goessel cruised in its first two matches, beating Hutchinson Central Christian 25-14, 25-14 and South Haven 25-10, 25-13. In pool play against Sedgwick, the Bluebirds fought off the Cardinals to take the first set 25-20.

“Sedgwick made changes to their rotation, and it took us a while to make the adjustments,” coach Crysta Guhr said. The Bluebirds trailed 17-9 before putting together runs to tie at 21. Goessel won the second set 25-22.

In their semi-final match, the Bluebirds were pitted against Wichita Southeast. Goessel got ahead early in both sets, eventually winning 25-10, 25-15 to advance to another contest with Sedgwick.

In the first set, Goessel called timeout trailing 15-12-15. After that, the Bluebirds rallied, eventually winning 25-21. In the second set, Goessel took a four-point lead and maintained its edge, winning 25-17.

“‘Iron sharpens iron’ is our motto for the year, and that’s what happens when you play quality teams,” Guhr said. “It’s really satisfying to be on the winning side when you face quality competition.”

Goessel is now 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the Wheat State League. After playing Little River and Peabody on Tuesday, the Bluebirds will come home Thursday for matches with Douglass and Lyons.

Hillsboro

The Trojans lost their five-game winning streak but still finished in second in Southeast of Saline’s tournament, losing to Beloit in the final.

Hillsboro beat Saline, Circle, Concordia, and Salina on Saturday but lost 25-14, 25-17 to Beloit in the championship.

“We made some strides in areas where we needed work, and it showed in our performance,” coach Sandy Arnold said. “I felt like we started to gel a bit more and are getting a feel for each other on the floor.

“Our schedule has been tough in our young season, which I firmly believe will help us in the long run, but we have taken a few knocks as we learn to play new positions with new faces as well as perform skills consistently.”

The Trojans (8-5) will be at home Tuesday to play against Nickerson (4-7-1) and Halstead (10-0).

Centre and Marion

Centre was host Saturday for itsr annual invitational featuring Marion and six other competitors.

The Cougars finished fourth place while Marion was knocked out during the pool play

The Cougars beat Wichita Homeschool and Rural Vista but lost to Little River in the semifinal then to Berean Academy in the third-place match.

Marion was able to beat Junction City St. Xavier, but losses to Berean and Little River cost the Warriors an opportunity to advance.

“While we didn’t get the result we were hoping for,” coach Keri Collett said. “I’m incredibly proud of the effort and heat the team showed on the court.

“Every game is an opportunity for growth, and we’ll use this as a learning experience to improve. I’m confident in our team’s resilience and our ability to bounce back.”

The Warriors (3-5) will be hosts for their annual Spike Fest this Saturday at the Sports and Aquatic Center.

The Cougars (4-4-2) will be on the road Saturday to play against Sedan (2-4) and Argonia (9-1).

Peabody-Burns

Peabody-Burns took sixth Saturday, finishing 1-3 for the weekend, beating Wakefield for the Warriors’ lone victory.

The Warriors lost to Rock Hills, Tescott, and Ell-Saline.

Adyson Winter led the team in kills, blocks, and aces for the weekend.

“Our girls are still working hard to find their groove as a team,” coach Clarissa Dutton said, “but we saw a lot of positive things come out of this weekend.

“Huge shout out to my multi-sport female athletes. It was a long week for us.”

The Warriors (3-8) will be back at home on Tuesday to play against Solomon (4-8-1) and Herington (8-3).