? Trojans? bid for a fourth straight state volleyball title ends against Silver Lake
Hillsboro?s dream of four consecutive volleyball state championships sank Satur?day in a deep Silver Lake that swallowed every opponent it faced during the Class 3A state tournament in Emporia.
Hoping to rebound from a two-set sweep by Silver Lake in pool play the night before, the Trojans were swept again in the finals by identical 25-19 scores as the Eagles secured their second consecutive 3A championship.
?We ran into a pretty solid team,? Trojan coach Sandy Arnold said afterward. ?I don?t know if we played them again if we could have beaten them. I just don?t know. They have a lot of weapons.?
The biggest weapon, literally, was Alyssa Schulte?jans, a 6-foot, 1 inch senior who has committed to play for Kan?sas State next season.
Even non-partisan fans enjoyed the exhibition of power hitting between Schultejans and Alex Ratz?laff, Hillsboro?s 5-10 junior all-stater.
In both sets, the Trojans dug an early hole. They trailed 1-6 in Set 1, but rallied to tie the score at 13. They trailed 15-16 when a decision about an inadvertent whistle went against the Trojans; the Eagles responded with a 6-0 run that Hillsboro could not overcome.
In Set 2, the Trojans were down 1-4, but rallied quickly and took a 7-6 lead on back-to-back service aces by Ratz?laff. Hillsboro maintained the lead until Silver Lake tied the score at 18, then outscored the Trojans 7-1 down the home stretch.
With its 5-0 tournament record?and not losing a single set all weekend?Silver Lake verified its No. 1 ranking in 3A by the Kansas Volleyball Associa?tion despite a 35-9 record. The Eagles were seeded sixth in the tournament, based on their record.
The Trojans made it to the championship game with a semifinal victory over Douglass?the No. 1 seed in the tournament at 36-2?in three sets, 25-17, 13-25, 25-17.
Hillsboro survived a talent-loaded pool Friday, qualifying for bracket play with a 2-1 record. Silver Lake, Hills?boro and Hesston all were ranked in the top four by KVA.
Hillsboro, the tournament?s No. 2 seed, opened against unranked and seventh-seeded Nemaha Central (32-11), and claimed a solid 25-19, 25-16 win.
Hillsboro trailed early in the first set, but a kill by Ratzlaff tied the set for the final time at 18. Julie Sin?clair stepped in and served for six straight points to lead the Trojans to the six-point win.
In Set 2, Hillsboro trailed only 0-1 and slowly built a nine-point lead by the end of.
That pitted the Trojans against Silver Lake in Game 2. Whether intimidated by their opponent or simply in funk mode again, Hillsboro took a 25-7 beating in the opening set.
To their credit, the Trojans rebounded in the second set and led 15-10 midway through. But when Silver Lake reeled off seven straight points, Hillsboro never recovered and dropped the set and game, 25-22.
The loss meant Hillsboro needed a win over league rival Hesston to extend its season another day.
The Swathers led early in the first set, but the Trojans rallied to tie the score at 10, and never trailed again on the way to a 25-15 win. In the second set, Hillsboro took its first lead at 5-4 and stayed in front all the way to a solid 25-18 victory.
?I can?t tell you I wasn?t a little nervous, just because it was an elimination match,? Arnold said of the showdown. ?I strongly believed we should win that game, as far as X?s and O?s. But this was the seventh time we?ve played them in two years. You always worry: Is this the time they?re going to beat us??
With a 3-2 tournament performance, the Trojans finished another outstanding season with a 39-5 record.
The team?s goal of winning a fourth consecutive state championship was left unfulfilled, and there was no hiding the disappointment as state medals were distributed after the finals.
?It was going to hurt when that streak ended, no matter when it happened,? Arnold said. ?What team wants to be the one to end the streak?
?That part was already tough enough, but I think it was even tougher on me because it happened to be this group of kids. I feel like my job as a coach is to get them to believe they can do this again. So you do that, but when you don?t quite get there, it?s like?what do I say now?
?But that?s how it is in life sometimes,? she added. ?You can work your tail off, and sometimes you just don?t get what you wanted or expected. Hopefully, we learned about character and perseverance.?
Arnold said some opposing coaches had told her this year?s team wasn?t as strong; some doubted the Trojans would even make it to state.
?If you think about it that way, they did a fantastic job,? Arnold said of her squad. ?I am super proud of how they competed. They had people gunning for them all season long, with a big target on their back. They had to take everybody?s best shot and they hung with it.
?Aside from three losses during the season, they took what everybody gave them and put it right back at them,? she added. ?To get back into the finals says a lot for this group. They?re a great group of kids.?
For six seniors?Shelley Arnold, Lakyn Johnson, Emily Jost, Bradli Nowak, Tara Proffitt and Julie Sinclair?the tournament was their last hurrah.
?We?ll miss the six seniors, they?ve contributed a lot to the program the past four years,? Arnold said. ?I felt like they really led the way for us this year.?