Great Bend Post Sports
With a pair of losses on Tuesday - just their second and the third of the season - the Lady Panther volleyball team faced some adversity. How did they respond? By knocking off top-ranked Hillsboro (2A) and No. 9 Emporia (5A) on Thursday. They carried that momentum into Saturday's tournament at El Dorado, improving to 25-3 overall with a 5-0 showing.
Twenty of the 25 wins this season have come in straight sets. Great Bend picked up three more of those wins Saturday but twice needed three sets to get by Chanute, including a 25-20, 22-25, 25-14 win in the finals.
The Lady Panthers opened with a 25-19, 25-9 win over Wichita West. Senior Makenzie Premer led the offense with six kills, followed by four each from senior Sadie Spray and juniors Cassie Ellegood and Kara Feist. Senior Lauryn Davis served up five aces and freshman Kya Behr added three. Spray and Feist each had two blocks. The back row needed just 16 digs in the win. Senior Macy Nachtigal led the team with four, and Davis followed with three. Behr had nine assists and Spray finished with six.
Great Bend defeated August 25-18, 26-24. Ellegood led a balanced attack with seven kills. Feist added six, and sophomore Denver Ringo finished with four. Spray was big at the net defensively with five blocks, followed by four from Feist, and three from Ellegood. The back row was much busier with 38 digs, led by 13 from Nachtigal and seven from Behr. Behr again led the team with 15 assists.
Chanute dominated the first set in the first meeting 25-10. The Lady Panthers responded to take the final two sets 25-23, 25-21. Great Bend needed some extra time to get past Buhler 31-29, 25-18 in the semifinals.
The Lady Panthers travel north to Phillipsburg for a triangular that includes No. 3 Smith Center (2A) on Tuesday. They close out the regular season Saturday with the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Dodge City Saturday.