Kansas high school volleyball state champions: Hillsboro, Little River win titles again

A decade ago when Savannah Shahan was a kid attending coach Sandy Arnold’s summer volleyball camp in Hillsboro, she can still remember how inspiring the high school players were at the time.

The Trojans were in the midst of winning three straight state championships from 2011-13 and Shahan, along with classmates Zaylee Werth and Anslee Brewer, were mesmerized by the trophies.

“I remember us in elementary school and we would go to every single volleyball camp and look up to the varsity girls,” Shahan said. “That’s who motivated us.”

Memories of those summer camps were on the forefront of the minds on Saturday for the three Hillsboro seniors, who cemented their own place in school history with their second straight Kansas Class 2A state championship won at Dodge City’s United Wireless Arena.

Hillsboro delivered a near-flawless performance in pursuit of back-to-back titles, sweeping all five matches at the state tournament in straight sets, culminating with a dominant 25-11, 25-22 victory over Hoxie in Saturday’s finals.

“The credit goes to those three seniors. They really led the charge this year and they pulled the younger ones up with them,” Arnold said. “All three of them buy into what the coaches are trying to do and when you have your best players accepting the coaches, then the others are going to follow suit. I’ve coached these girls since they were little at summer camps and they are so fundamentally sound and they have such a high volleyball IQ. This group is the whole package.”

Hillsboro graduated six seniors from its 44-1, title-winning team from last season, but returned all of its explosive hitting talent, beginning with the duo of Werth (377 kills) and Shahan (357 kills).

This season began rocky, at least by defending champion standards, as Hillsboro suffered three losses in the first two weekends. But the three seniors pushed their younger teammates through the adversity, culminating in a late-season victory over Circle that Arnold said was the moment when the group realized another championship was within reach.

While Werth and Shahan combined for two-thirds of the team’s kills this season, the offense also relied on Brewer and sophomores Lauryn Vogt and Kingzley Ratzlaff, who shared setting duties with freshman Ella Potucek. The back row was spearheaded by freshman libero Amyah Werth.

Their dominance was truly astounding in the postseason: The Trojans didn’t drop a single set and allowed opponents to score more than 16 points just four times in 16 sets. Hillsboro finished with a 39-5 record this season.

“We just have such a good connection out there on the court together,” Shahan said. “We play like we’re one family. It makes everything easier. Even after a mistake, we’re always there to pick each other up.”

After winning her fifth state championship in the last 13 years, Arnold couldn’t help but appreciate what she was seeing in the stands during Hillsboro’s trophy celebration.

Dozens of young girls, future Trojans, and their families had made the three-hour drive to Dodge City to watch the current generation of volleyball players win another title. She couldn’t help but feel like the cycle was repeating.

“I saw a lot of girls who come to our camps in the summer and they look up to (the high school girls) because they are the ones who helped them this last summer,” Arnold said. “All of those kids look up to these girls. I know they’ll be coming back next summer and I’m sure some of them are already hoping to win a championship of their own some day.”

Little River also repeats as state champions

Another repeat championship occurred in Dodge City earlier in the day, as Little River captured its second straight Class 1A Division I title.

Unlike Hillsboro, Little River had essentially the same team back from last season, which coach Kim Rolfs said made for quite the different experience in trying to repeat.

“It’s very special to win back to back, and I think it’s harder the second time, even if you have a better team,” Rolfs said. “They had to deal with a target on our back every match. It’s a lot of pressure to deal with because the expectation was we should win it. But our kids did a good job of handling all of that and keeping their focus.”

In Saturday’s finals against top-seeded South Gray, Little River was off to a strong start with a 25-15 victory in the first set, but grew frustrated in the second set when South Gray pushed back and pulled out a narrow win, 25-23.

In the huddle before the third and decisive set, Rolfs had a clear message to her team.

“You may never find yourselves in this situation again, so you better take advantage,” Rolfs said.

The championship was never in doubt after that, as Little River rolled to a 25-7 third-set victory to claim its second straight title with a season record of 42-2.

Little River was led this season by its five seniors in Alaina Eck, Aubrey Olander, Ashley Stephenson, Kami Grasser and Kathleen Ellwood. The team also had help from a strong sophomore class in Adelynne Strecker, Evie Look, Havana Olander and Lucy Wright.

“We had five seniors and their growth as far as players and their skills was truly unbelievable,” Rolfs said. “Their growth as far as emotional and mental was very, very good, and I’m just super proud of these girls and their relationships. They’re such great kids on and off the court. It made it easy to coach them in a way we could push them and ultimately achieve our goals.”

Other local teams finish with state trophies

At the Class 5A state tournament in Salina, Maize South bounced back from a semifinal loss to claim the third-place trophy with a 22-25, 25-20, 25-21 win over Spring Hill.

The Mavericks lost to eventual champion Topeka Seaman to begin Saturday, 25-17, 25-21, but avenged one of their earlier losses this season in the win over Spring Hill to cap off a 38-5 record and a program-best state finish.

Maize South was led this season by seniors Camdyn Stucky, Gracie Morrow, Carly Koster, Jenna Sokoll, Cece Young, Sydney Lamb, Ashley Singhateh, Kalie Whitson and Lilly Mitchell and juniors Jillian Gregory and Alyvia Herbig.

Meanwhile, in the Class 4A semifinals in Hutchinson, it was an AV-CTL rematch with McPherson prevailing over Andale with a 25-21, 25-17 victory. The Bullpups lost to Bishop Miege in straight sets in the final, while Andale knocked off Louisburg in three sets, 23-25, 25-8, 25-16, to claim the third-place trophy.

At the Class 3A state tournament, Smoky Valley topped Silver Lake to advance to the championship match but ultimately fell to Olathe Heritage Christian, which claimed its fourth straight title. Meanwhile, Cheney also reached the semifinals and settled for a fourth-place finish on Saturday.

Kansas high school volleyball state tournament results

Class 6A state results (at Salina)

Championship—Mill Valley def. Blue Valley North, 25-23, 25-19. Third place—Olathe Northwest def. Blue Valley West, 25-17, 25-17. Semifinals—Blue Valley North def. Olathe Northwest, 25-22, 17-25, 25-21; Mill Valley def. Blue Valley West, 25-23, 25-20.

Class 5A state results (at Salina)

Championship—Topeka Seaman def. St. Thomas Aquinas, 25-19, 25-22. Third place—Maize South def. Spring Hill, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21. Semifinals—Topeka Seaman def. Maize South, 25-17, 25-21; St. Thomas Aquinas def. Spring Hill, 25-12, 25-12.

Class 4A state results (at Hutchinson)

Championship—Bishop Miege def. McPherson, 25-12, 25-14. Third place—Andale def. Louisburg, 23-25, 25-8, 25-16. Semifinals—Bishop Miege def. Louisburg, 25-10, 25-17; McPherson def. Andale, 25-21, 25-17.

Class 3A state results (at Hutchinson)

Championship—Heritage Christian def. Smoky Valley, 25-9, 25-17. Third place—Silver Lake def. Cheney, 25-19, 25-23. Semifinals—Heritage Christian def. Cheney, 25-17, 25-17; Smoky Valley def. Silver Lake, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23.

Class 2A state results (at Dodge City)

Championship—Hillsboro def. Hoxie, 25-11, 25-22. Third place—Smith Center def. Inman, 25-20, 25-21. Semifinals—Hillsboro def. Inman, 25-10, 25-22; Hoxie def. Smith Center, 25-13, 25-13.

Class 1A Division I state results (at Dodge City)

Championship—Little River def. South Gray, 25-15, 23-25, 25-7. Third place—Centralia def. Clifton-Clyde, 25-11, 25-20. Semifinals—South Gray def. Clifton-Clyde, 25-21, 25-16; Little River def. Centralia, 25-17, 25-13.

Class 1A Division II state results (at Emporia)

Championship—Lebo def. Hanover, 25-20, 25-10. Third place—Wallace County def. Beloit-St. John’s Tipton, 21-25, 25-18, 25-18. Semifinals—Hanover def. Beloit-St. John’s Tipton, 25-10, 25-20; Lebo def. Wallace County, 25-22, 17-25, 25-14.