- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
SALINA -- After advancing to the state quarterfinals in 2020, Seaman's volleyball team took another step forward with Saturday's fourth-place finish in the Class 5A state tournament at Tony's Pizza Events Center.
But coach Tatiana Dowling and her Vikings won't be completely satisfied until they get the chance to do what familiar foe Lansing got to do Saturday -- celebrate a state title.
After earning a berth in the semifinals with a 2-1 pool play record on Saturday, Seaman dropped a 25-15, 25-18 semifinal decision to Lansing before ending a 27-13 seaon with a 25-13, 25-21 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in the third-place match.
"We took a step and we're proud of what we accomplished this season, but we're not satisfied,'' Dowling said. "We want to come back next year and we want to do better. We want to end the season on a win in the state championship match.''
Seaman volleyball coach Tatiana Dowling hugs senior standout Drew Baxter as the Vikings receive their fourth-place state medals Saturday in Salina. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Lansing, which handed the Vikings four of their 2021 losses, went on to claim the state championship with a 25-20, 25-22 win over St. James Academy in the final.
Lansing jumped out to a 7-2 first-set lead over the Vikings in the semis, but Seaman was still within two points (13-11) before the Lions ran off three straight points to take a 16-11 lead.
Seaman got back within 17-14 on a kill from senior Drew Baxter before Lansing outscored the Vikings 8-1 to close out the set.
The Vikings took an 8-7 lead in the second set on a kill from freshman Maegan Mills and the score was tied at 10-all before the Lions scored 10 of the next 11 points to take control.
"They're a great team because they push us to be better,'' Dowling said. "They make great plays which forces long rallies and forces us to execute.''
Seaman was within 10-8 of Aquinas to start the third-place match but the Saints rallied for a 21-10 lead before closing out the 12-point first-set win.
Seaman and Aquinas were tied at 16 and 17 in the second set before the Saints opened up 23-19 lead and scored the final two points of the match for the five-point victory.
Seaman's volleyball team poses for a team picture after Saturday's fourth-place finish in the Class 4A state tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Saturday was the final high school matches for seniors Baxter, Elizabeth Stover and Elizabeth Meier, but the Vikings will return nine underclassmen off their state roster.
"We do have great young players and there's lots of talent coming back but it's hard when lose seniors, especially seniors like Drew who are great vocal leaders and who play all the way around for us and are leaders during the season and during the offseason,'' Dowling said.
"All of our seniors stepped up in different ways and became leaders for us throughout the season. It's always hard when you lose three people who were a big part of your team.''
CLASS 5A STATE VOLLEYBALL
Semifinals
Lansing def. Seaman, 25-15, 25-18; St. James Academy def. St. Thomas Aquinas, 25-23, 23-25, 26-24.
Championship
Lansing def. St. James Academy, 25-20, 25-22.
Third place
St. Thomas Aquinas def. Seaman, 25-13, 25-21.
- Details
By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Seaman rebounded from last week’s 42-31 loss to Centennial League rival Washburn Rural in style Friday night, keeping Emporia quiet all night long in a 57-6 Class 5A playoff victory at Seaman.
Fortunately for the Vikings they were familiar with league opponent Emporia, which Seaman had knocked off 22-6 earlier in the season.
Looking for a better performance in Friday's rematch Seaman got off to quick start on Camden Barta's 77-yard touchddown run..
The Spartans tried to keep the ball out of Seaman’s hands with read options and short passes, but the Vikings' pressure on the outside were able to make the Emporia offense uncomfortable, resulting in negative yardage on several plays.
“Our great week of practice carried over,'' Seaman coach Jared Swafford said. "Our guys have done a phenomenal job, honestly. It was nice for everything to come together. I think with the weather being what it was, we could've made any excuse, but we dealt with it. We had the best week of practices we ever had.”
Seaman quarterback Camden Barta had a big night in Friday's 57-6 win over Emporia, throwing for more than 318 yards and having a hand in five touchdowns. [Photo by Shelly Prengel/Special to TSN]
The 77-yard TD set the stage for a big night for Barta, who passed for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and finished the night with 318 passing yards, 87 rushing yards and five total touchdowns.
“Camden (Barta) is starting to get it,'' Swafford said. "Camden did a great job of reading coverages today. He popped off a couple of big runs for us as well. He’s doing a great job and we are really proud of him.”
Seaman's PJ Vargas had a three-touchdown night in the Vikings' 57-6 win over Emporia Friday night, [Photo by Shelly Prengel/Special to TSN]
Receivers PJ Vargas, Casen Stallbaumer and Brody Gormley hauled in the four total TD passes thrown by Barta, with the Viking receivers turning the passes into big gainers.
With injuries to running backs (Kaden Ireland & Aiden Polter), sophomore Jack Bloom has stepped up in a big way for Seaman. Bloom rushed for 37 yards and two touchdowns against the Spartans.
Seaman (6-3) will be back in action against Blue Valley Southwest (3-6) next Friday at Seaman.
SEAMAN 57, EMPORIA 6
Seaman (6-3) 14 22 14 7 -- 57
Emporia (1-8) 0 0 0 6 -- 6
First Quarter
Seaman -- Barta 77 Run (Wilhelm kick)
Seaman -- Bloom 1 run (Wilhelm kick)
Second Quarter
Seaman -- Vargas 17 pass from Barta (Wilhelm kick)
Seaman -- Gormley 32 pass from Barta (Wilhelm kick)
Seaman -- Stallbaumer 10 pass from Barta (Conversion good)
Third Quarter
Seaman -- Vargas 10 pass from Barta (Wilhelm kick)
Seaman -- Bloom 1 run (Wilhelm kick)
Fourth Quarter
Emporia -- Woydziak 16 pass from Geitz (Conversion failed)
Seaman -- Vargas 85 return (Wilhelm kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Emporia: Geitz 16-24, Keys 11-59, Trujillo 3-9, Galbreath 1-5. Seaman: Bloom 14-37, Barta 4-87, Stallbaumer 2-6, Huston 2-5.
Passing -- Emporia: Geitz, 8-15, 45 yards. Seaman: Barta 18-22, 318; Huston 0-1, 0.
Receiving -- Emporia: Leeds 4-14, Woydziak 3-29. Seaman: Stallbaumer 6-116, Gormley 4-72, Vargas 4-44, Colley, 3-38.
WasRelated Stories and Videos
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For the first time in a long time, Washburn Rural's volleyball team had its back to the wall Friday night after a first-set loss to Shawnee Mission Northwest in the second round of Class 6A pool play at the Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina.
But the Junior Blues responded about like you'd expect from a undefeated, nationally-ranked team, outscoring its opponents 100-57 the rest of the night on the way to claiming the Pool I title with a 3-0 record.
After starting pool play with a 25-17, 25-16 win over Olathe Northwest, Shawnee Mission Northwest took a 25-20 win over the Junior Blues in the first set before Rural bounced back with a vengeance, evening the match with a 25-20 win and then routing Northwest in the third set, 25-13.
With the brief scare behind them the Junior Blues wrapped up the Pool I title with a 25-16, 25-8 romp past Hutchinson.
Washburn Rural's volleyball team improved to 41-0 on the season with a 3-0 record in Class 6A pool play Friday in Salina. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural, which improved to 41-0 on the year, will now face Pool II runner-up Blue Valley West (30-10), the defending 6A champ, in a 1 p.m. semifinal Saturday.
Pool II winner Blue Valley North (38-2) will face Olathe Northwest (26-12) in the other semifinal, also at 1 p.m.
The championship and third-place matches will follow the semifinals.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's football team did exactly what heavy favorites are supposed to do Friday night at Bowen-Glaze Stadium, never giving underdog Wichita West the slightest hint of hope that the Pioneers could pull off an upset.
The Junior Blues. the No. 4 seed in the Class 6A West playoff bracket, built a commanding 21-0 lead in less than seven minutes of work and went on to take a commanding 49-0 halftime lead on the way to a 52-7 romp.
"I was really happy with the intensity,'' Washburn Rural coach Steve Buhler said. "We came out and focused. We talked all week about making sure we got off to a good start in the playoffs and do all things that we've been doing up to this point in the season and I thought the kids did a nice job of carrying everything over.''
Robby Bolin (11) celebrates a Washburn Rural touchdown with teammate Amr Sabbarini in the Junior Blues' 52-7 romp past Wichita West Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Now 8-1 on the season, Washburn Rural will be at home again next Friday, hosting a 7-2 Free State team which rolled to a 49-22 win over Wichita South Friday night.
Rural set the tone for the night when it needed just four plays and 1:10 to score its first touchdown, a 14-yard run from sophomore JC Heim (Giles Frederickson kick).
The Junior Blues went up 14-0 at the 8:01 mark on a 31-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Branton DeWeese to senior Robby Bolin (Frederickson kick) and senior Austin Fager put Rural up 21-0 at the 5:09 mark of the opening quarter on a 6-yard run (Frederickson kick).
Washburn Rural senior Austin Fager recovers a Wichita West fumble in the Junior Blues' 52-7 win Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The second quarter was more of the same, with Rural scoring TDs on a 1-yard run from junior Kason Williams, a 12-yard pass from DeWeese to Heim, a 45-yard run from Williams and a 34-yard pass from DeWeese to junior Amr Sabbarini. Frederickson converted all four extra points to go 7 of 7 on the night.
"We looked sharp on offense and the defense played really well,'' Buhler said. "From a head coaching standpoint, everything was really clean and really crisp. There was a good rhythm to the game and that's how you want to start the playoffs.''
The pace slowed considerably in the second half, with Buhler emptying his bench, but junior Dayten Smoot scored Rural's final points on a 33-yard field goal with 11:13 to play.
Wichita West (2-7) scored its only points of the night on a 10-yard run from junior Kobey Figuers with 3:13 remaining.
DeWeese completed nine of 11 pass attempts for 187 yards and three touchdowns while Bolin caught three passes for 78 yards and a TD.
Williams led Rural with 59 yards and two TDs on just six carries while Heim had 48 yards on five totes and scored two touchdowns.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman volleyball team assured itself of a top-four finish in Class 5A with a 2-1 record in Friday pool play at the Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina.
The Vikings opened Pool II play with a 25-17, 25-11 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas and then dropped a 25-20 first-set decision before winning their next four sets of the day.
Seaman took 25-18 and 22-25 wins over Spring Hill to take that match and the Vikings closed out their day with a 25-21, 25-22 win over Centennial League rival Emporia.
Seaman's volleyball team's hopes for a Class 5A state title are still alive after the Vikings posted a 2-1 record in pool play Friday to advance to Saturday's 9 a.m. semifinals. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman, now 27-11, finished as the runner-up in Pool II and will face Pool I winner Lansing (36-1) in a 9 a.m. semifinal Saturday.
St. Thomas Aquinas (37-3), the Pool II winner, will play Pool I runner-up St. James Academy (29-10) in the other semifinal, also at 9 .m.
The championship and third-place matches will follow the semifinals.
