The Lady Panther volleyball struggled with the second set in a tournament win at Riley County over the weekend. Tuesday night the struggles came a little earlier. But Great Bend bounced back to beat Hays 17-25, 25-11, 25-21, capping a 2-0 evening after defeating Manhattan 25-16, 25-23. The Lady Panthers improve to 8-2 overall.
Senior Rylie Duvall accounted for 13 of the team's 25 kills in the three sets against Hays. Valarie Luna, Makenzie Premer, and Cassie Ellegood each added three. Junior Sadie Spray was big on the serve with four aces in the match, and she also had 19 assists.
Early defense was big in the win with 10 total blocks, including six from Luna. Spray continued a big match on defense as she and Kara Feist each added four blocks. Macy Nachtigal led the back row with 24 digs, followed by Lauryn Davis and Kyndall Blessing, each with 10, and eight digs from Paige Thexton.
The Lady Panther varsity squad takes some time off before hosting Hutchinson and Goddard on Sept. 22. Hutchinson is currently ranked No. 9 in Class 6A.