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The Goddard Lions celebrated returning to the volleyball court after an 11-day layoff in the best way imaginable – by winning a tournament.

The Lions won all five of their matches last Saturday at the Southeast Volleyball Invitational at Wichita Southeast High School to capture the tournament title and improve to 9-10 on the season.

The Lions defeated Life Prep 25-10, 25-5, the host Buffaloes 25-9, 25-18, Wichita Independent 26-24, 25-19 and Wichita South 25-8, 25-11 to reach the championship match. Goddard then downed the hosts again, 28-26, 25-22, to capture the tournament title.

“It was awesome to get those wins,” Goddard coach Micki Soft-Heim said. “The girls really needed this tournament to help them see just how talented they are and how they can play together and win.”

Emerson Wedel had a strong performance at the tournament, racking up 38 kills and 20 aces on the day, while Talyn Thul added 26 kills. Madelyn Wilson, Micah Gillespie and Jera Tipping each had 10 aces last Saturday, while Gillespie and Wilson added 46 and 33 assists, respectively. Thul led the defense with 45 digs last Saturday.

“All eight of my players came to play,” Soft-Heim said. “They all had amazing moments. Emerson Wedel is always a leader on the court and Talyn Thul had a great tournament. Zoey Garret played a huge role at the net last weekend. She had some great blocks and kills at key moments. Mady Wilson had some amazing saves to keep us in each set.”

The Lions headed to Andover earlier this week to take on the host Trojans and crosstown rival Eisenhower and are at Arkansas City on Tuesday to play against the host Bulldogs and Salina Central.

Owls hand

Cheney first

loss

Five days after the Cheney Cardinals volleyball team defeated Garden Plain at the Coleman Classic, the Owls took their revenge.

Garden Plain hosted the Cardinals and Rose Hill last Thursday for a triangular and won both matches, downing Rose Hill 18-25, 25-17, 25-22 and Cheney 23-25, 25-19, 25-18.

“It was nice to get two big wins at home against two state-ranked opponents,” Garden Plain coach Gina Clark said. “I’d say we enjoyed a home court advantage too, as Thursday night was Gold Rush and we have a pretty packed house and a great student section for a Thursday night match.”

Reese Stuhlsatz had 25 kills last Thursday, while Jaden Stuhlsatz had 17 and Ava Mies added 13. Mies also had five aces, while Lylah Zoglman added three. Ellie Thul had nine blocks, while Kora Rex added eight and the duo of Mies and Reese Stuhlsatz had six apiece.

“We were proud of our kids’ effort and ability to battle in three-set matches against both Rose Hill and Cheney,” Clark said. “We’ve had a couple of injuries this season and we’ve had to shuffle lineups three times already this year in just 11 matches, but our kids are doing a great job responding to those changes and making things work.”

Erin Smith had 39 digs, while Mies added 21 and Claire Rolfs had 17. Jaicey Stuhlsatz had 31 assists, while Rolfs added 29.

“I was proud of Ava Mies and her performance for the evening,” Clark said. “She’s been a steady, confident, and calm leader all season and she really came through big with five aces on the night and 13 kills, plus shared a lot of the passing duties with Erin Smith in the back row. Smith had a breakout night … and I thought our outsides, Reese and Jaden Stuhlsatz, both played well with both hitting over .200 for the evening. They were strong and smart. Our middles, Thul and Rex, came up with 16 block assists on the night, and that’s a pretty big number for just two matches.”

The Owls are at Hesston on Thursday and open Central Plains League play on Tuesday against Belle Plaine and Conway Springs.

Cardinals split triangular at

Garden Plain

The Cheney Cardinals volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season last Thursday at the hands of one of its biggest rivals in a triangular at Garden Plain.

The Cardinals beat Rose Hill 25-16, 25-14, but fell to the host Owls 25-23, 19-25, 18-25.

Reese Hedstrom had 12 kills against Garden Plain, while Erika Block added six kills and two aces. Adelle Fouquet also had a pair of aces and 11 digs, while Kenadi Thome had 27 digs. Macey Batt and Karstyn Inslee each had 13 assists against the Owls.

Hedstrom had 10 kills and two aces against Rose Hill, while Batt added a pair of aces and Berkley McKinley had three blocks. Thome had nine digs, while Inslee had 11 assists and Batt added nine.

The Cardinals hosted Sunrise Christian Academy earlier this week and host their own Cheney Invitational on Saturday. Then on Monday, Cheney kicks off CPL play by facing Medicine Lodge and Wichita Trinity at Kingman.

Indians take second at Chaparral

The Clearwater Indians volleyball team had one of its players hit a huge milestone last Tuesday as the Indians swept a triangular against Buhler and Wellington.

Kenzy McArtor hit her 1,000th career kill during the Wellington match, an impressive achievement at the high school level.

“Kenzy McArtor is one in a million,” Clearwater coach Abbee Schultz said. “She stands out from all skill aspects. She has an average of five aces a set with an extremely difficult serve to receive. She should reach a pretty high unusual number for high school in career aces by the end of the season. It really places pressure on opposing teams. She is a top passer with the second highest serve receive rating behind our libero.

“Lastly, her offense is something you don’t find often at the high school level. Her humble character wouldn’t tell you she’s the best of the best, but as a coach who has been around high school and college volleyball, she’s one of the best volleyball players in the state of Kansas.”

McArtor had seven aces last Tuesday, while teammate Justine Berlin added six. Meanwhile, Kaylee Hampton had 40 assists on the evening. Berlin also had a .778 hitting percentage, while McArtor was was at .514.

“The team had a lot of good connections last Tuesday with minimal errors,” Schultz said.

Last Saturday, Clearwater competed at the Chaparral invite and took second after Wellington avenged its loss to the Indians from a few days earlier.

“Unfortunately we made a lot of errors from all skill aspects,” Schultz said. “Wellington is an extremely talented team that played very well.”

Clearwater beat Attica 25-19, 25-17, Remington 25-16, 25-19, Pretty Prairie 25-11, 25-13 and the host Roadrunners 25-19, 25-9, but fell to the Crusaders 17-25, 20-25.

The Indians took on El Dorado and Rose Hill earlier this week and face off with McPherson and Winfield on Tuesday.

Raiders win

Dexter invite

The Argonia Raiders had what head coach Emily Coleman called a “crazy and full week packed with volleyball” last week – but one that ended with their second tournament title in as many weekends.

The Raiders won the Dexter tournament last Saturday for the first time since 2021, going 4-1 and avenging their only loss of the day in the championship match. Argonia started the day by taking a 24-26, 25-21, 13-25 loss to the Wichita Warriors, but did not lose again, downing Lost Springs-Centre 26-24, 23-25, 25-16, Sedan 25-14, 25-10 and Cedar Vale/Dexter 25-22, 2518 to earn a spot in the title match. The Raiders then avenged that loss by downing the Warriors 2518, 17-25, 25-18.

Last Saturday’s performance was even more impressive as the Raiders were without starting setter Kara Jones, who was injured last Thursday against Attica.

“Linden Greve stepped into some big shoes to get the Lady Raiders through the day,” coach Coleman said. “That (early loss to the Warriors) didn’t hold back the Lady Raiders as they faced the Wichita Warriors in the championship match. (The girls) fought back and took the victory. We are so proud of this team as most of them were playing with minor injuries.”

Autumn Coleman had 51 kills last Saturday, while Tori Morrison added 40 and Lindsay Coleman had 37. Greve had 136 assists at the tournament filling in for Jones, while Morrison had 53 digs, Autumn Coleman added 46 and Lindsay Coleman had 43.

Last Thursday, Argonia split a triangular, beating Norwich 25-10, 25-12, but falling to Attica 26-28, 18-25.

Morrison had 18 kills on the night, while Autumn Coleman added 13 and Lindsay Coleman contributed 12. Jones had 30 assists and Greve had 17, while Autumn Coleman had 25 digs last Thursday and Lindsay Coleman chipped in 20.

Last Tuesday, the Raiders swept a quad, downing Sedan 25-6, 25-18, Central Burden 25-9, 25-11 and Cedar Vale/Dexter 25-19, 25-21.

Autumn Coleman had 24 kills on the night, while Lindsay Coleman had 21. The Raiders were at Oxford earlier this week to take on the hosts and West Elk and are at Udall and Central Burden on Saturday before coming home Tuesday.

Conway Springs goes 2-3 at Medicine

The Conway Springs Cardinals volleyball team had a mixed bag when it competed last Saturday at the Medicine Lodge tournament, going 2-3 at the event.

The Cardinals beat Southwestern Heights 2516, 25-20 and Belle Plaine 25-14, 25-20, but lost to the host Indians 14-25, 11-25, South Central 1525, 16-25 and to Bucklin 20-25, 15-25.

“Honestly I was very pleased with the day,” Conway Springs coach Amanda Becker said. “It was a new tournament for us and one where we saw a lot of teams we never see. I felt like we really came to play. We switched things up a bit after the first match and I was very proud of the way they stayed as a team and worked together throughout the day.

“We played pretty competitive, even in the losses and lost a lot of long rallies against all three Bucklin, Medicine Lodge, and South Central. I think if some of those fall in our favor and we could have seen a different outcome in another match or two.

But ultimately I just feel like it’s a good step in the right direction for us.”

The Cardinals took on Wichita Independent and Wichita HomeSchool earlier this week and open Central Plains League competition on Tuesday against Belle Plaine and Garden Plain.

Tigers take second at

Maize invite

The Eisenhower Tigers volleyball team continued its solid start to the season as it took second last Saturday at the Maize invite.

At Maize, the Tigers beat Wichita Northwest 23-25, 25-12, 25-20, the host Eagles 26-24, 25-22 and Hutchinson 25-23, 25-17 in pool play. In the semifinals, Eisenhower fell to Kapaun Mount Carmel 19-25, 21-25, but bounced back to beat Valley Center 22-25, 26-14, 25-15 for third place.

I’m pleased with third place and how we played throughout the day,” Eisenhower coach Kayla Turner said. “We’ve been dealing with another lineup change this week dealing with illness and injury.”

Karli George had 41 kills last Saturday, while Stella Kitt had 13 aces and Delainee Dexter added 11 on the day. Dexter and Sydney Nance had 11 blocks apiece last Saturday, while Taylor Morgan had 84 digs and Dexter had 64 assists last Saturday.

Last Tuesday, the Tigers beat Salina Central 25-15, 25-18, but fell to Andover Central 19-25, 15-25.

George had 16 kills and three aces last Tuesday, while Dexter added 12 kills and Nance had three blocks. Morgan and Klaire Warden had 18 digs apiece, while Dexter had 20 assists.

The Tigers were at Andover earlier this week and head to Newton on Saturday for a tournament. Eisenhower is back in Andover on Tuesday to take on Andover Central and Andover.

Colts drop pair of matches

The Campus Colts volleyball team dropped its only two matches of the week last Tuesday at Valley Center, falling to Maize 12-25, 22-25 and to the host Hornets 20-25, 25-22, 17-25.

The Colts headed to Maize South earlier this week to take on Derby and the host Mavericks and host a tournament on Saturday. Campus is back at Maize South on Tuesday for another matchup with the Mavericks and Salina South.