By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Coming off of back-to-back record-setting seasons, a 9-9 start to the 2025 season may not have been ideal for Great Bend High School’s volleyball team. But the goal was not to pile up wins in the first half of the season. The goal was to get better by playing good competition.
The strategy seems to be working. The Panthers have not lost a match since ending an 0-5 streak against tough competition on Sept. 27. With a pair of 2-set wins during Saturday’s Class 5A sub-state tournament on its home court, Great Bend bumped its win streak to 18 matches and secured a trip to the state tournament for a second straight season.
“Halfway through the season, we saw some tougher competition,” said Kimmy Hofflinger, one of four seniors on this year’s squad. “That gave us a parameter for what we needed to see at the end and what we needed able to be.”
The Panthers rarely trailed in the two matches Saturday. After a 25-20, 25-20 win against Valley Center in round one, Great Bend watched as Andover Central needed three sets to get by Emporia. The Panthers downed Central 25-19, 25-19 in the finals.
“It was all the energy,” Hofflinger said. “Having a home crowd really helps, but we knew coming in that as long as we kept our energy up and kept the score at a one or two-point differential, we were going to stay on top.”
The Jaguars opened the first set with a 2-1 lead. Panther sophomore Mikala Minton put down three kills and senior Ava Kaiser served up an ace to turn the tide. Junior Kya Behr also put down a kill, and a block from freshman Stevie Mayers put the Great Bend lead at 10-3. The gap remained at 14-7 on a tip from junior Alex Mayers.
Central stormed back, tying the score at 16 before Behr scored on a block and Minton produced another point at the net. Hofflinger had a long service to open the set, and she capped another late service with an ace for a 21-16 Panther lead.
“It’s really just knowing that my team is counting on me at that point,” she said. “I have to stay aggressive but stay under control. That’s what the team needed, and I was happy to do it for them.”
Behr took over on serve to open the second set. Four straight aces helped Great Bend to an early 8-2 advantage. The Jags again hung around, leveling the score at 10 before Great Bend got kills from Minton, Alex Mayers, and sophomore Micah Ellegood to bump the lead back to 15-12. Central was still in the set at 15-14 before an ace from Alex Mayers and a spike from Ellegood put the Panthers on the path to the title in the 25-19 finale.
Great Bend took a 27-match win streak to state last year but finished 0-3 in Salina to end the season at 35-5. This year’s team heads to state with a 27-9 record and experience from last year.
“I think we’re a lot more prepared this year,” Hofflinger said. “Last year, it was our first time being introduced to it. I think now we’re ready to go get some wins.”
The Panthers faced some rare adversity in the first set against Valley Center. A kill from Alex Mayers gave Great Bend a 9-6 lead, but the Hornets battled back to lead 11-10 before the sides traded several points. A Behr block was followed by a Minton kill and an ace from Hofflinger to regain a 16-13 edge. Junior Meredith Mazouch and Kaiser added late aces, and Minton had a pair of late kills to secure the set 25-20.
Similar to the final set of the day, Behr opened the second set against Valley Center with a long service that helped produce a 9-2 Great Bend lead. The Hornets got as close as 12-10 before a pair of Minton kills and a block from Behr bumped the Panther lead back to 16-10. Freshman Jaya Stroup added a late kill before Behr ended the match at 25-20 with blind tip into the corner.
State brackets should be released on Sunday.