By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
With back-to-back record-setting seasons, the Great Bend High School volleyball team has been counting wins over the last two seasons. During Saturday's Western Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by GBHS, Panther Coach Shelly Duvall had to pick up something else: a player's teeth. Junior Alex Mayers lost the teeth in the final set of the championship match against Liberal, then returned to score the championship point
"They had taken every team to three in the beginning of the day," Mayers said of Liberal. "Right before the match, everyone was like, don't overlook them. We need to get this done in two. What did we do? They took us to three, and we gave them everything, even my two front teeth."
Great Bend entered the title match riding a 14-match win streak. The WAC title would also help secure home-court advantage during this Saturday's sub-state tournament. The Panthers took the first set 25-17, before Liberal forced the third set by winning the next set 27-25. Junior Kya Behr dug up a ball midway through the third set. The pass was heading out of bounds when Mayers gave chase, diving for a one-armed save. The momentum drove her face into the court.
"The best part was when she rolled over and looks at me and said, 'Coach, did I save the ball?'" Duvall said Wednesday on 1590 KVGB/95.5 FM's "Sports Day" program. "Yeah, kid, you saved the ball. Saved the ball with no teeth in the front. Then I literally dumped her two front teeth into her dad's hands while they walked her off the court."
Senior Kimmy Hofflinger, who appeared alongside Mayers, Duvall, and freshman Stevie Mayers on Wednesday's radio program, agreed it was no small feat to later re-enter the game and deliver the final blow. Duvall agreed.
"Seeing her sitting on the sidelines, then saying, 'Coach, I'm ready to go back in,' you can't teach that," Duvall said. "You can't coach that. That's just pure adrenaline and competition, and that's definitely what Alex showed. She had the whole team ready to go. Everybody on the bench was ready. How do you not win a game after that?"
Mayers' 11th kill of the match secured the WAC championship at 25-16. There was other good news. Mayers credits Dr. Larry Kutina with fixing the front teeth on Monday. The new ones, she said, look even better than the originals.
Great Bend enters the postseason as the No. 3 seed with a 25-9 record. The Panthers will face No. 14 Valley Center (16-17) in the opening match at 2 p.m. Saturday at GBHS.
No. 6 Andover Central (24-10) will take on No. 11 Emporia (21-14) following the Great Bend/Valley Center match. The winners of both of those matches will play for a sub-state championship. Last year's Great Bend team advanced to the state tournament for the first time since 2020.