By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The semifinals are all but set at the Class 5A State Volleyball Championships in Salina. In Pool 2, No. 7 Kapaun knocked off No. 2 Great Bend in three sets and No. 3 Andover in two sets to avenge a pair of losses to the Trojans earlier this season. With a 25-20, 25-17 loss to No. 6 St. James Academy, Great Bend will play Andover in the final match of the evening with hopes of extending a school-record 35 wins on the season.
With Andover's loss to Kapaun, Great Bend needed to beat St. James to stay alive. The Thunder, with USC-bound Reese Messer and a powerful freshman in Mya Lee were impressive in both of their early matches.
Lee had three early kills in the first set against Great Bend at St. James pulled ahead 10-4. The Panthers got a pair of kills from sophomore Alex Mayers and a Melock from sophomore Kya Behr to stay in the set at 14-10. A kill from senior Cassie Ellegood and another Great Bend point made the score 15-12. The Thunder ultimately pushed the lead back to 20-13 and 22-18 on Great Bend's fourth service out of bounds in the set. Messer added a late block as the Thunder finished off the set 25-20.
Ellegood put down a kill and aced the subsequent serve to give the Panthers a quick 3-2 edge early in the second set. Great Bend remained competitive, getting a tip from Behr and an ace from junior Ava Kaiser to trail 10-9. Lee put down a kill for a 17-14 Thunder lead and the Panthers never got any closer than that in the 25-17 set.
Top-ranked and top-seeded Topeka-Seaman is the only unbeaten team in Pool 1 after two rounds of matches.
Earlier action...
Round one of pool play at the Tony's Pizza Event Center in Salina was not a kind one to the lower-seeded teams of the Class 5A State Volleyball championships. In Pool 2, No. 3 Andover fell into a 5-0 deficit against No. 6 St. James Academy, never rebounding in a 25-14 first set. The Trojans led 8-5 in the second match before surrendering 10 straight points and dropping the set 25-19. Great Bend, the No. 2 seed, dropped its first set to Kapaun Mt. Carmel 25-8, 23-25, 25-12.
No. 2 Great Bend dropped its first set to No. 7 Kapaun 25-8. The Lady Panthers fell behind 11-3 after a pair of aces from Crusader junior Mason Palace, who added a pair of late kills to bump the Kapaun lead to 20-7.
Great Bend rebounded to take the second set 25-23 in a dramatic second set. The Panthers took their first lead at 7-6 on a tip from sophomore Kya Behr, and another Behr tip extended the lead to 13-7. Palace and the Crusaders stormed back to 13-12 before Behr ended the run with a kill. Late in the set, a Kapaun ace leveled the score at 22. Senior Cassie Ellegood answered with a kill. Leading 24-23, Behr came up with a big save that yielded an Ellegood tip for the 25-23 set.
Kapaun jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third and decisive set. Seniors Ellegood and Kara Feist put down kills to stop the bleeding but the Crusader lead grew to 10-4, then 18-7 after a Palace kill. Kapaun kept the gap at or near double-digits the rest of the way to take the set 25-12.
Great Bend plays matches against St. James Academy and Andover later Friday evening.
In Pool 1, No. 5 seed St. Thomas Aquinas defeated No. 4 seed Blue Valley Southwest in straight sets 25-23, 25-18. Top-ranked and top-seeded Topeka-Seaman defeated De Soto in two sets.