The Lady Panther volleyball team improved to 6-2 with a win at the Riley County tournament Saturday. After a 2-set loss against No. 10 Clay Center (4A) to open play, Great Bend later avenged the loss to the Tigers 25-17, 25-15, 25-21 for the championship.
The Lady Panthers fell to Clay Center 25-23, 25-18 to open the day. Valarie Luna and Rylie Duvall each put down six kills in the loss, and Kara Feist added four kills. Sadie Spray helped the offense with 14 assists. Feist and Cassie Ellegood each had two defensive blocks. The back row was active with 62 digs. Macy Nachtigal led that charge with 16, and Spray and Kyndall Blessing each reached double figures with 11 and 10, respectively.
Great Bend responded with a 26-24, 25-23 win against St. Marys. Duvall had seven kills in the win, while Luna, Feist, and Makenzie Premer each added five. Spray served up 23 assists, and she and Luna each had two blocks. Lauryn Davis served up a pair of aces, and the defense needed just 34 digs with Blessing leading the way at 10.
The Lady Panthers needed three sets to get by No. 8 Jefferson County North (2A) 25-9, 25-20, 26-24. Premer paced the offense with seven kills, followed by six each from Luna and Duvall. Luna and Thexton accounted for four of the team's six aces in the win. Spray finished with 26 assists and three blocks, and Luna also had three blocks. Thexton led the defense with 10 digs, followed by Davis, Nachtigal, and Spray each with nine.
Great Bend again played strong in the first set against Chapman with a 25-12 score. After dropping the second set 25-17, the Lady Panthers rallied for a 26-24 final set to earn the rematch against Clay Center.
The Lady Panthers jump back into Western Athletic Conference play Tuesday with varsity-only action in Hays. The girls head to Salina Saturday for tournament play.