For the first time in school history, the Halstead Dragons claimed a state volleyball championship, winning the 3A State Tournament in Hutchinson this weekend. In 1A-DI at Dodge City, the Little River Redskins claimed their third straight state title.
Halstead opened play on Friday in Hutchinson, picking up straight set wins over Royal Valley (25-15, 25-21) and Nemaha Central (25-21, 25-23). They battled for a three set win over Beloit (20-25, 25-19, 25-21) to take first place in Pool I. On Saturday, the Dragons beat Neodesha 25-19, 25-15 in the semis before a 25-23, 25-22 straight set win over Nemaha Central in the championship match.
In 1A-DI, Little River battled for a three-set win (25-17, 20-25, 25-21) in their pool play opener against St. John. They followed with straight set wins over Clifton-Clyde (25-4, 25-20) and South Gray (25-12, 25-13) to take first in Pool II. In Saturday’s semis, the Redskins beat Flinthills 25-16, 25-19 and then went on to beat Centralia 25-18, 25-14 for the championship.
Two other Ad Astra Radio area schools brought home trophies from state. In 2A, Inman took third place. They won straight set matchups over Central Christian, Oakley and Maranatha Academy on Friday to win Pool I. On Saturday, the dropped a tough match to Valley Heights 26-24, 25-21, but rebounded with a 25-21, 16-25, 25-18 win over Ellinwood in the consolation match. Ellinwood also went 3-0 on Friday to win Pool II before losing to Maranatha in the semis. Maranatha Academy beat Valley Heights in two to claim the 2A title.
Hoisington finished third in 3A. After going 3-0 with straight set wins over Girard, Frontenac and Neodesha on Friday to take Pool II, the Cardinals fell to Nemaha Central 25-21, 22-25, 25-23 in the semis. They bounced back with a 25-19, 25-13 win over Neodesha in the consolation.
In Class 4A, McPherson went 2-1 and took second place in Pool II, falling to Rock Creek in three sets, but winning in straight sets over Clearwater and Concordia on Friday. They fell to eventual state champion Bishop Miege in the semis and lost in three (21-25, 25-15, 25-16) to Topeka-Hayden in the consolation match, finishing in fourth place.
