By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural volleyball coach Kevin Bordewick has had a long line of Junior Blue teams qualify for the Class 6A state tournament, with eight state champions, and every one of those teams holds a special place in his heart.
Washburn Rural's volleyball poses for a team picture Saturday after earning a trip to the Class 6A state tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And Bordewick is especially happy to be taking his 2024 Junior Blues to Salina for next weekend's state event after Washburn Rural turned in a dominating performance in Saturday's 6A sub-state at Rural.
The Junior Blues, now 30-6 on the season, opened their day with a 25-11, 25-8 semifinal win over Liberal before Rural, the No. 1 West seed, earned its state berth with a 25-14, 25-19 win over Lawrence Free State in the championship match.
Rural began the season with some question marks after heavy graduation losses, but Bordewick said he was very proud of how the Junior Blues have responded this fall.
"Every year is special,'' Bordewick said. "It's always just a little bit different group, and in this case it's a lot different group. We're relying on kids that we haven't had to rely on and through the course of the season they have really stepped up and we trust them.
"When you go through this whole process of the season, every day you hope to get better and better and I'm really proud of these kids because I think we've done that in large part.''
After dominating its semifinal match against Liberal (4-30), the Junior Blues, ranked No. 5 in 6A by the Kansas Volleyball Association, were locked in a tight first set with Free State (14-18) in the early going, including a 4-2 deficit and a tie at 5-5 before Rural took control.
The Junior Blues rode a long service run from senior Kate Hinck to go up 12-6 and went up 17-9 on a kill from senior Layla Collins.
Rural went in front 21-12 on a Collins service ace and also got a pair of kills from junior Karsyn Horyna before closing out the 11-point win on a dink from junior Stella Kelly.
Free State went up 3-0 and 7-2 in the second set but the Junior Blues battled back to take a 9-7 lead behind a long service run from Kelly.
The Firebirds battled back to regain a brief 13-12 lead and the match was tied at 13 before Rural ran off six straight points to take a 19-13 advantage on a kill from sophomore Molly Schuler.
Washburn Rural celebrates a kill from senior Layla Collins (3) in Saturday's Class 6A sub-state volleyball tournament at Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Rural went up 21-14 and 22-15 on Collins kills before closing out the match and the sub-state title on another kill from Collins.
Free State, the No. 9 West seed, advanced to the championship match with a 25-8, 25-17 semifinal win over No. 9 Topeka High (17-19).
Washburn Rural celebrates after scoring the final point in Saturday's Class 6A sub-state volleyball championship at Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural will begin its state bid with three pool play matches on Friday at the Tony's Pizza Events Center, with the top two finishers in both 6A pools advancing to Saturday's semifinals.
CLASS 6A SUB-STATE AT WASHBURN RURAL
Semifinals
Washburn Rural def. Liberal, 25-11, 25-8; Free State def. Topeka High, 25-8, 25-17.
Championship
Washburn Rural def. Free State, 25-14, 25-19.
