By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Dodge City never went away in Thursday's best-of-five volleyball action at Great Bend High School. The No. 10 Lady Panthers took the first two sets 25-22, 25-21, but trailed for most of the third set, including 15-12 midway through the set. Great Bend battled back, and a pair of Red Demon errors set up a match point at 24-22. Lady Panther senior Cassie Ellegood, who had some big serves earlier in the match, delivered an ace to end the evening with a 25-22 set.
"Coach (Shelly) Duvall said in the huddle we're going to serve it and we're just going to block it," Ellegood said. "In my head, I was like, 'No, I just want to ace it.' In my head, I was like I'm just going to do it and I'm just going to get it done and I did."
Dodge City got big play at the net early in the third to lead 4-1. The gap stood at 15-12 when sophomore Kya Behr tipped over a point and senior Kara Feist put down a pair of blocks to level the score at 15. Behr's ace gave Great Bend its first lead of the set 16-15.
But the Red Demons continued to battle, regaining a 19-18 lead and tying things up 22-22. With possession, the next Dodge City serve went into the net. Then a Lady Demon was called for getting in the net. That set up Ellegood's ace to finish the night.
Great Bend opened up an 8-3 lead in the first set thanks in part to two hits from sophomore Alex Mayers, an ace from senior Kimmie Hofflinger, and kills from Behr, Ellegood, and junior Ava Kaiser. Dodge City battled back for an 11-10 lead but a kill from freshman Micah Ellegood and offensive and defensive points from Cassie Ellegood put Great Bend back on top 15-13. The Lady Panthers never trailed in the set again, getting key kills from freshman Mikayla Minton and Feist for a 21-18 edge. With the score tied at 22, Cassie Ellegood finished off the set with a pair of spikes and a block for the 25-22 finish.
The Lady Panthers led 3-2 early in the second set when Cassie Ellegood took over on serve with three aces and another big serve to set up a 7-2 advantage. Again Dodge City fought back, evening the score at 11 before Cassie Ellegood and Minton put down hits for a 13-11 Great Bend lead. Two more aces from Cassie and a kill from Feist bumped the gap to 17-13. The Lady Demons got as close as 21-20 late in the set. A stuff from Behr and Cassie Ellegood moved the Panther lead to 23-20, and Cassie finished off the set with a pair of kills.
"Dodge always plays their best against us," Ellegood said. "They have some really strong girls and they hit well. Getting a block on some of those girls, it just fires you up and it feels really good."
Dodge City falls to 14-12 on the season. Great Bend moves to 13-2 ahead of its varsity invitational Saturday at the GBHS Fieldhouse.