By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Eight-time Class 6A state volleyball champion Washburn Rural got off to an uncharacteristic 6-7 start to the 2023 season, but Kevin Bordewick's Junior Blues are starting to look more and more like the Rural of old.
Washburn Rural senior Jada Ingram spikes the ball during Tuesday's Senior Night quadrangular. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural celebrates a point during Tuesday's Senior NIght quadrangular sweep. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural posted three straight-set Senior NIght wins Tuesday night, with the Junior Blues stretching their winning strreak to 14 straight matches while strengthening their hold on the No. 1 West seed for the upcomining 6A sub-state competition.
Rural, now 20-7 on the season, kicked off Tuesday's home quadrangular with a 25-13, 25-13 win over Lawrence and then took a 25-9, 25-11 win over city rival Hayden before capping its night with a 25-16, 25-16 win over Manhattan.
"I don't know if we played that well this past weekend but I know that we looked really sharp tonight,'' Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. "That's what you wanted to see, especially after a long weekend and I do feel like we are getting more comfortable with who we're next to and I think we trust each other better, but we've still got a long ways to go.''
Washburn Rural has obviously benefitted from the return of senior Zoe Canfield from ACL surgery but Bordewick said he feels like it also helped Rural to learn to play without the All-Stater..
"I think it did,'' Bordewick said. "It made other people step up. It's kind of like when Zoe went out during basketball, we had to have other people statep up. That's a lot of credit to the kids and how hard they work when they come to practice and just a belief that, 'We can get this done.' ''
Rural jumped out to a quick 15-8 first-set lead over Lawrence and led 18-8, 20-11 and 24-13 before winning the match on a kill from senior Jada Ingram.
The Junior Blues and Lions were tied at 10-all in the second set before Rural ran off 11 straight points for a 21-10 advantage on the way to its seond straight 25-13 win.
Washburn Rural took control from the outset against Hayden, going up 5-0, 8-1 and 15-2 out of the gate, including a kill from senior Ava Bruno at 15-2.
Rural went on to build 18-5 and 20-6 leads on the way to a 16-point first-set win.
Hayden played the Junior Blues tougher in the second set, trailing 5-4, before Rural opened up an 18-9 advantage and went up 23-11 on a kill from junior Layla Collins and 24-11 on an Ingram kill before closing out the match with a service ace.
Washburn Rural was never seriously threatened in the first set against Manhattan after taking an 11-3 advantage. The Junior Blues went up 15-8 on a service ace from senior Macey Jones and took a 19-10 lead on an Ingram kill went in front 22-14 on an Ingram ace before losing out the 25-16 win.
Manhattan was within 8-7 and 11-8 in the second set against Rural before the Junior Blues used a 4-0 run to take a 19-10 advantage and went up 24-14 on a Bruno kill before closing out a second straight 25-15 win over the Indians.
Hayden's volleyball team celebates a point during Tuesday's quadrangular at Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden sophomore Reese Huscher sets the ball during Tuesday's volleyball quadrangular at Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden, a 3A school, went 1-2 on the night against its three 6A opponents, taking a 25-19, 25-19 win over Lawrence to end the quad after earlier losses to Manhattan and Rural.
"I am so proud of the way they responded,'' Hayden coach Corrinne McGreevy said. "I said, 'Hey, we come out, we show up or we do what we did against Washburn Rural,' and they came out and they showed up and our middles stepped up big.
"I said, 'Middles I need you to be an option,' and they did that against Lawrence High. That helped our outsides get relief because Lawrence respected all of our hitters.''
McGreevy said the Lawrence win was big from a momentum standpoint for the 11-22 Wildcats heading into crunch time.
"We have maybe three weeks left in the season depending on how we do at sub-state, so it's time to step up and play your tails off because it's do or die.''
Match results
Washburn Rural def. Lawrence, 25-13, 25-13; Washburn Rural def. Hayden, 25-9, 25-11; Washburn Rural def. Manhattan, 25-16, 25-16; Manhattan def.Hayden, 25-22, 25-18; Manhattan def. Lawrence, 25-23, 25-18; Hayden def. Lawrence, 25-19, 25-19.
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