By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural will make its traditional trip to the Class 6A state volleyball tournament next week after a dominating performance in Saturday's sub-state tourney on the Junior Blues' home court.
Washburn Rural earned its ninth straight trip to the Class 6A state volleyball tournament with a pair of straight-set wins Saturday at Rural. [Washburn Rural Athletics]
Rural, the No. 1 6A West seed, punched its ticket to the state tournament at Salina's Tony's Pizza Event Center with a 25-11, 25-4 semifinal win over No. 16 Wichita West and a 25-11, 25-21 win over No. 8 seed Maize in the championship match.
Now 30-6 on the season, the Junior Blues will be making their ninth straight state tournament appearance and their 27th in 31 seasons under coach Kevin Bordewick, who has led Rural to eight state titles and ranks No. 2 on Kansas' all-time career victory list.
Washburn Rural was ranked No. 5 in the final Kansas Volleyball Association 6A state rankings.
Hayden volleyball poses for a team picture after capturing a Class 4A sub-state title Saturday at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Wildcats survive three-set final to earn return trip to Class 4A state
Hayden, the No. 4 Class 4A East seed, was pushed to three sets by No. 5 seed Eudora but outlasted the Cardinals, 25-23, 24-26, 25-20 Saturday at the Bueltel Activity Center to earn a return trip to next week's state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Hayden senior Reese Huscher spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 4A sub-state at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior Ella Foster sets the ball during Saturday's Class 4A sub-state tournament at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden reached the championship match with a 25-7, 25-10 semifinal win over No. 13 Labette County while Eudora survived a three set semifinal with No. 12 seed Ottawa, taking a 20-25, 25-10, 25-19 win over the Cyclones.
Now 29-9 on the season, Hayden finished third in last year's state tournament and was ranked No. 3 in the final KVA state rankings.
Top-ranked Eagles top Riley County to take 3A sub-state crown
Silver Lake, the No. 1 Class 3A East seed and ranked No. 1 by the KVA for seven straight weeks, fought off Riley County in Saturday's sub-state final on the Eagles' home court to advance to next week's state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Now 41-1 on the season, Silver Lake dropped the first set to No. 3 sub-state seed Riley County, 25-23, but rallied to take 25-21 and 25-15 wins in the next two sets to garner the title.
Silver Lake took a 25-12, 25-9 semifinal win over No. 4 Perry-Lecompton while Riley County needed three sets to knock off No. 2 Nemaha Central, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18.
Rossville volleyball poses for a team picture after earning a Class 2A state tournament berth Saturday at Rossville. [Rossville volleyball]
Bulldawgs advance to 2A state with back-to-back thrillers
Tournament host and top sub-state seed Rossville was pushed to three sets in both its semifinal and championship matches, but the Bulldawgs survived both sets to advance to next week's Class 2A state tournament in Dodge City.
Rossville, ranked No. 7 in the final KVA 2A state rankings, outlasted No. 4 Cair Paravel Latin, 27-25, 19-25, 25-20 in the semifinals before rallying from a first-set loss against No. 2 Maur Hill-Mt. Academy in the sub-state final to take a 22-25, 25-23, 25-12 win.
Maur Hill-Mt. Academy advanced to the final with a 25-16, 27-25 semifinal win over Kansas City Christian.
The Bulldawgs will take a 28-13 record into the state tournament.
Trojans fall in 6A sub-state final
Topeka High, the No. 10 Class 6A West seed, upset No. 7 seed Wichita North, 25-19, 25-23, in the semifinals of the Wichita Northwest sub-state before dropping a 25-5, 25-4 decision to the host school and No. 2 West seed in the championship match.
The Trojans finished the season with a 14-21 record.
T-Birds runnerup in 5A sub-state
Shawnee Heights, the No. 8 Class 5A East seed, advanced to the championship match in the Blue Valley Southwest sub-state before falling to the host team and No. 1 East seed in the final.
The T-Birds, who finished the 2025 season with a 20-17 record, topped United Kansas Conference rival Basehor-Linwood 26-24, 25-18 in the semifinals before dropping a 25-19, 25-17 decision to Southwest in the sub-state final.
Scots fall to state champs in 5A sub-state final
Highland Park continued its breakout season by advancing to the championship match in the Class 5A sub-state tournament at St. Thomas Aquinas before losing to the defending state champs.
The Scots, the No. 7 East seed, reached the final with a 25-16, 25-20 semifinal win over No. 10 seed Kansas City-Harmon, Highland Park's Meadowlark Conference rival, before falling in the final to No. 2 East seed Aquinas, 25-6, 25-6.
Highland Park finished its season 18-15.
Chargers fall in 5A sub-state semifinal
Topeka West, the No. 13 West seed, ended its 2025 season with a 25-13, 25-10 semifinal loss to Class 5A sub-state tournament host Kapaun Mt. Carmel.
The No. 4-seeded Crusaders went on to claim a 5A state tournament berth with a 26-24, 25-12 win over Salina South.
Topeka West finished its season 19-16.
