Johnson County volleyball teams head to state

TETONA DUNLAP | The Kansas City Star

After Blue Valley West came up short of a state title the last two seasons, the players refocused. On Saturday in Olathe, BV West beat BV Northwest and Blue Valley to advance.

more volleyball...

• The Star’s All-Metro volleyball team
• Lee’s Summit North’s Marianne Beal is All-Metro volleyball player of the year
• Dominant Pelger earns city’s POY honor
• Missouri prevails in Mo-Kan volleyball
• Lee’s Summit North’s Beal wins Evelyn Gates Award

you might also like...

• Johnson County volleyball notebook
• St. James and Blue Valley West rally, advance at state volleyball tourneys
• Aquinas and Bishop Miege on collision course in 5A state volleyball
• Tradition is key at BV West, and Jaguars’ college-bound seniors know the routine
• Blue Valley North, BV West win at Olathe East 6A substate volleyball tournament

It’s state tournament time, and several Johnson County volleyball teams are gearing up to make a run at a championship. Here’s a preview of each classification.

6A at Topeka Kansas Expocentre•STARTS AT: 8:30 a.m. Friday. Semifinals start at 10 a.m. Saturday, with consolation and championship matches 25 minutes after last semifinal ends.

•JOHNSON COUNTY SCHOOLS: Blue Valley North, Blue Valley West, Shawnee Mission Northwest

BV West’s season has ended in heartbreak the last two years. Coach Terry Flynn says the Jaguars’ losses to Washburn Rural in the 2006 and 2007 state championship matches are the motivating forces for this team, and the Jaguars are playing like it. Senior outside hitter Caitlyn Donahue and senior libero Morgan Boub have led BV West to a 28-8 record.

While BV West was on a mission, Blue Valley North took the long road to get to the state tournament. Despite being the fifth seed in their substate bracket, the Mustangs upset fourth-seeded Olathe South in the first round and top-seeded Olathe East in the substate final. Several players came up big in the Mustangs’ two matches on Saturday, including junior Chelsea Cook, who had 16 kills and 10 blocks, and senior Catherine Beehler, who had 38 assists.

However, the Mustangs aren’t the only underdog that will be in Topeka this year. In only her second season, SM Northwest coach Holly Davidson has the Cougars back in the state tournament for the first time in years. After going 7-20 in 2007, SM Northwest finished with a regular-season record of 18-17. The Cougars continued their strong play at substate on Saturday, beating Leavenworth in two games in the first round and SM South in two games in the final to clinch a state tournament berth.

5A at Topeka Kansas Expocentre•STARTS AT: 3:30 p.m. Friday. Semifinals start at 2 p.m. Saturday, with consolation and championship matches 25 minutes after last semifinal ends.

•JOHNSON COUNTY SCHOOLS: Bishop Miege, St. Thomas Aquinas

Well, here we go again. The last two years, Aquinas beat Miege in the championship match of the 5A state tournament.

And after both teams cruised through their substate brackets on Saturday to qualify for state, it’s hard not to imagine these two teams meeting again.

Both teams had to do some significant retooling this season. Miege lost a number of senior starters, including Kathleen Ludwig, the Evelyn Gates Award winner who is at K-State. Aquinas lost its share of top players, too, including do-everything standout Allison Mayfield.

While neither team is as dominant as it was last season, both are still good. Miege enters state 33-5, and Aquinas is 29-7. The last time these two teams met, Miege won in a match that decided the East Kansas League title. If they meet again, it will be interesting to see what kind of adjustments each team makes, and the ultimate result.

4A at Salina Bicentennial Center•STARTS AT: 8:30 a.m. Friday. Semifinals start at 10 a.m. Saturday, with consolation and championship matches 25 minutes after last semifinal ends.

•JOHNSON COUNTY SCHOOL: St. James Academy

The Thunder has been waiting for this chance at redemption for a full year now. St. James Academy had its hopes for an undefeated season dashed by Topeka Hayden in the championship match of the 4A state tournament last season, and since then, the Thunder, now 40-1, has been on a roll, including victories against 5A powerhouses like Aquinas and Miege. The Thunder’s only loss came to a nationally ranked team at the Nike Challenge in Chicago.

If St. James wants to win its first title, coach Nancy Dorsey says her players need to remain focused on playing the best they can and dictating the tempo.

“If we can do that,” Dorsey says, “we’re tough to beat.”

Comments - leave comment