By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Area volleyball teams enter sub-state play this weekend. Last season, Great Bend, Hoisington, and Ellinwood all advanced to their respective state tournaments. All three schools are again in the mix for a state berth on Saturday.
Hoisington finished third in Class 3A last year with a 41-5 record. The Lady Cards take a 34-4 record on the road to Lakin for postseason play. At 35-4, the Broncs enter as the No. 1 seed opposite Southwestern Heights (18-16) in the 2 p.m. match. Hoisington will play Goodland (30-8) immediately following. The winners will meet in the sub-state championship match.
A year after serving up a state-record 164 aces, junior Sofia Simic has put down 104 big serves in 2025. Senior Kelsi Maier and sophomore Reese Vaughn have 46 and 44 aces, respectively. Simic is also one of the top hitters in Kansas this fall with 461 kills. Maier has 258 kills on the season, and junior Kinley Wilkens has 145. Freshman Mila Simic has 120 kills in her debut season. Senior Miya Nachtigal leads the back row with 285 digs, followed by Maier with 252, and Sofia Simic with 220. Vaughn and junior Brynn Tarlton lead the team with 489 and 443 assists, respectively.
Hoisington, ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, has a 3-set loss to top-ranked and unbeaten Ellinwood (2A), two losses to No. 2 Hillsboro (2A), and an early-season loss against Goodland.
Ellinwood will host a Class 2A sub-state Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. The top-ranked Eagles (40-0) will take on Plainville (15-18) in the first match. Smith Center (22-14) and Rawlins County (23-14) play in the second match. The winners of those matches will meet in the sub-state championship.
The Eagles have reached the sub-state round with a perfect record despite a tough schedule that includes a pair of wins against 3-time defending 1A, Div. I and top-ranked Little River. Ellinwood also has a 2-set win against Hillsboro, 3-set wins against Hoisington and No. 6 Beloit (3A), and a trio of convincing 2-set wins against No. 5 Victoria (1A, Div. II).
Great Bend enters sub-state riding a 15-match win streak to improve to 25-9 overall. Most of the Panther losses this season have come against ranked opponents from the larger classifications, including a pair of close losses to top-ranked Clay Center (4A), and losses to No. 5 Washburn Rural (5A), No. 7 Manhattan (6A) and No. 5 St. James Academy (5A). Great Bend, now ranked No. 8, has a recent win against Hillsboro, and also defeated Emporia in three sets this season.
Saturday’s Class 5A sub-state bracket at GBHS begins at 2 p.m. with Great Bend taking on Valley Center (16-17). Andover Central (26-10) will play Emporia (21-14) in the second match. The winners from both matches advance to the sub-state finals.