Volleyball won the 6A sub-state championship Saturday, Oct. 21 by beating Shawnee Mission South 2-0 and Olathe South 2-1. This is the second year straight the team has hosted sub-state and advanced to the state tournament.
Senior Addison Bailey describes her strongest moment during the tournament.
“My strongest moment during sub-state was having to step up and play six rotations for some of the first sets against Olathe South,” Bailey said. “One of the outsides was injured during warmups and our coach had to change the lineup quickly. I was put on the outside after not playing front row most of the season and I believe that for having little practice I was able to step into the role and help my team as much as I could.”
According to senior Kaitlyn Burke, practice will be focused on improving their skills before state.
“Our practices this week will be really focused so that we can hone in on what we need to work on when it comes time for state,” Burke said. “I think I need to improve on blocking,” Burke said. “I got tooled a lot versus Shawnee Mission South, so at practice this week I will definitely focus on that.”
Additionally, Bailey explains the benefits of team bonding before state.
“The preparation for state is always a blast,” Bailey said. “A lot of people expect us to be really hardcore all week but we want to have fun since it is some of our last weeks playing volleyball, like myself. We have themed practices and activities all week but we still have the ability to focus and get things done while enjoying state prep.”
Burke shares her feelings on the volleyball season overall.
“I think we have had a great season so far,” Burke said. “We have beaten a lot of teams we have never beaten before and we have ultimately put ourselves in a great position to win state this year. Our toughest competition will be Blue Valley North, but we are currently on a two win streak against them. I think if everyone plays as hard as they can and we bring it like we have all season, this year’s state championship belongs to us.”
The state tournament will be held at Tony’s Pizza Center in Salina, Kansas Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28.
