By: KSHSAA COVERED STAFF, Bret Maycock
CLASS 3A At the Hutchinson Sports Arena
NEODESHA OR KNEE-ODESHA? BLUESTREAKS PERSEVERE THROUGH INJURIES
When Neodesha coach Jodi Stover’s daughter, Samantha, tore her ACL in a July basketball tournament, the Bluestreaks were at the doorstep of a new season without their primary setter.
Neodesha had a secondary option in versatile junior Prayer Roebuck, but needed someone who could also deliver the ball to Roebuck at the net for her left-handed swings from the right side.
Stover’s answer? A sophomore with no experience at the position and on the back end of her own ACL recovery, Kimmy Combs.
“Finding a varsity setter is really tough,” said Stover, whose team has matched Neodesha’s program-record 36 victories from a year ago and earned its first state tournament berth since 2015.
“That’s a really hard position just to push someone into. Kimmy, at the time, wasn’t even cleared until the first week of August to start coming back.”
Combs, who went down on the first play of Neodesha’s seventh match last season, had some early reservations and ensuing growing pains at setter. But she has evolved into the role, producing 453 assists and allowing Roebuck to flourish as the Bluestreaks’ go-to hitter.
“She really struggled with it at the beginning, especially with Prayer,” Stover said.
“Prayer’s a left-hander and she likes it in a specific spot. Prayer likes to go fast and there was a lot of frustration – mainly Kimmy putting pressure on herself and not being where she wanted to be.
“But she has done amazing. The fact that she could jump in there and do that at the varsity level just amazes me still.”
Neodesha, hindered by Tri-Valley League rivals Eureka and Humboldt in its quest to reach state in recent seasons, faced neither in last week’s Fredonia sub-state. After Anderson County knocked off Humboldt in the semifinals, the Bluestreaks rolled past Anderson County 25-12, 25-10 in the title match.
The 5-foot-10 Roebuck, who leads Neodesha this season with 462 kills, recorded the 1,000th of her career during the tournament.
“Prayer has really stepped up this year,” Stover said. “She has really tried to take it on her shoulders and do a lot of things. I feel bad for her sometimes because she puts a lot of pressure on herself. When things don’t go her way, she’s really hard on herself, but I think she’s done a great job this year.”
Underclassmen handle the bulk of Neodesha’s playing time. Roebuck has added 303 assists and 42 service aces. In addition to her setting role, Combs has 269 kills and 229 digs with 72 aces. Sophomore libero Dalia Johnson and junior outside hitter/defensive specialist Darcie Dyke are part of a lineup that will seek its first state victories for Stover, Neodesha’s 13th year head coach who earned her 300th victory this season.
Neodesha will open 3A state pool play as the No. 2 seed Friday with matches against Riverton, Silver Lake and Cheney.
“This team’s best quality is they don’t panic,” Stover said.
“Their composure is very good. There’s been several times that we’ve started out slow or lost the first set.
“They’re confident in themselves and they know they can come back and turn things around. I think that’s something that’s very special about them. They never count themselves out.”
RIVERTON TURNS REBUILD INTO RELOAD AS RAMS MAKES 4TH STRAIGHT STATE APPEARANCE
Riverton volleyball had not won a league title in 30 years before Rebecca Lipasek came to town in 2017.
With Class of 2023 players Jacy Thomasson and Morgan Compton leading the way, the Rams paired three straight state appearances with ending that league title drought.
But it was hard to picture Riverton returning to state without those two players this season.
And yet, the Rams found a way to turn a No. 3 seed into a fourth straight trip to state anyway.
Riverton survived a three-set thriller against Galena to open the postseason before sweeping Girard and Frontenac to win sub-state for the fourth straight year.
The Rams may have lost the firepower of Thomasson and the perfect timing that she had with Compton and 2021 grad Emma Berry at setter before that.
But the same development program under Lipasek and her daughter Kylie as Riverton’s middle school volleyball coach helped create a strong foundation that was just as important to Riverton’s postseason success as all-state standouts.
Part of that foundation has been this team’s ability to play elite defense without Thomasson out there as a killing machine.“If we can slow down our opponent’s top attackers, we feel like we have a shot at winning,”
Lipasek said. “Our serve receive has been strong in the latter part of the season, which has helped our new setters.”
Junior Maddie Darnaby and junior Lexie Mallatt have 59 and 55 aces respectively, followed by senior EJ Wells at 50 and seniors Alivia Parker at 47.Wells and Parker have led the Rams in kills this season. Wells leads the team with 349 kills, and total blocks with 69, while Parker added another 190. Junior Maddie Darnaby contributed another 139 kills.
As much as it was difficult for the team to figure out how to replace Thomasson’s production, it was filling the setter role in Compton’s absence that made things rough for the Rams early in the season.
“We went into the season knowing that the setting position would improve as the season progressed,” Lipasek said.
“It’s been frustrating at times to see the connections be sporadic. Obviously time and repetition has helped the setters grow and get to know each hitter.”
Senior Josie Harper and sophomore Ava Price have shared the setter duties this season. Harper leads the team with 345 assists while Price added another 249, although the latter holds a slight edge in assists per set this season. Junior Landyn Martin also contributed another 164 assists.
Lipasek said that the team started to really focus on the basics to get that timing and chemistry working.
“Patience and encouragement by our hitters has been a key as well,” Lipasek said. “The setter play at sub-state was some of the most consistent we’ve had all season and we look for that to continue.”
Even though this looked like it might be a rebuilding year for the Rams, Lipasek said that the team’s experience, particularly having returners with state experience, has been a vital part of this team’s performance this season.“
Experience is so important to our team,” Lipasek said. “EJ and Alivia have started varsity their entire careers, as well as juniors Lexie and Maddie. They have shown by example what kind of intensity and commitment it takes to compete in the postseason.”
Lipasek is looking for this group to remain consistent with its performance to give the Rams a chance to reach the semifinals for the second straight season.
“The key for our group is consistency, it has been all season,” Lipasek said. “We cannot afford for a breakdown in any phase of our game. The competition is just too good for that to happen. We need multiple hitters to step up and for the setters to be able to deliver.”
GOODLAND RELOADS AFTER HEAVY GRADUATION LOSSES
You don’t lose one of the most successful senior classes in school history and not feel the impact the following year. Goodland was tasked with replacing a group of seniors – including stars Talexa Weeter, Olivia Lehman and Lindsey Cure – that not only helped the volleyball team reach state the last three years, but also led the basketball team to back-to-back state championship seasons.
Goodland coach Angie Brumbaugh knew the Cowgirls would go through some growing pains, but the cupboard was far from bare. “We lost the majority of our power, but we returned our speed,” Brumbaugh said. “We lost a lot of key parts but we knew we had our ball control back, so that was definitely something we wanted to build around.
“I kept telling them early on: We have good pieces, it’s just going to take us some time to fit this puzzle together the best way.”
That’s been the case for the Cowgirls, who took 15 losses into the postseason and entered the Hoisington sub-state as the No. 4 seed. But that didn’t stop Goodland from hitting its stride when it mattered most, sweeping Colby, Hoisington and Holcomb to earn its fourth consecutive state tournament appearance.
After beating Colby 27-25 in the first set, Goodland won every other set on the day by at least six points. The Cowgirls have won 13 of their last 15 matches heading into state.
“In the last two to three weeks, we’ve really been able to see the fine-tuning and bring it all together,” Brumbaugh said.
“We just felt in control (in sub-state). We were believing in ourselves and believing in each other and it just made for a very successful day.”
Even after losing last year’s tremendous senior class, the Cowgirls had no problem finding leadership this year.
Outside hitter Jaxi Mitchek, libero Haley Biermann, right-side hitter Haley Blochlinger, setter Hannah Coumerilh and defensive specialists Brooklan Ivans and Brielle Rubio have assumed roles as senior leaders.
Other key players are sophomore hitters Alessa Rickard, Libby Cure and Lauren Linton. Mitchek went over 1,000 career digs at the Great West Activities Conference tournament and is closing in on 1,000 career kills with 976 She has 387 kills this season to lead Cowgirls.
Four other players have at least 124 kills – Blochlinger (161), Rickard (143), Cure (124) and Linton (114). Coumerilh leads the team with 767 assists, while Biermann has 446 digs and Mitchek 431. Cure leads team in blocks with 73 and Linton has 53.
Goodland (23-15) is the No. 8 seed and will be in a loaded pool with top-seed Beloit (37-2), defending champion Heritage Christian (34-4) and Smoky Valley (29-11).
“Because (making state) was so unexpected for so many people, we have nothing to lose and absolutely everything to gain,” Brumbaugh said. “I definitely think we’re on the tougher side of the pool with Beloit and Heritage in there but everybody is a great team that’s there.
We’re going to have just go in and take care of us and adjust based on what’s on the other side of the net. But if we keep believing in us and keep pushing, I think we can do good things.”