By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
SALINA -- The tears of 2021 were replaced by a long, and probably still ongoing, victory celebration for the Washburn Rural volleyball team on Saturday.
Washburn Rural dogpiles on the court after winning the Class 6A state volleyball title Saturday at Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina. [Photo by Jeff Jacobsen/Action Images Photography]
Washburn Rural's Brooklyn DeLeye, Zoe Canfield and Katie Borough celebrate after Saturday's 25-21, 26-24 win over Blue Valley in the Class 6A state volleyball championship game. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
After losing their final two matches of last year's state tournament to finish a disappointing fourth, Washburn Rural responded with a dominant performance on Friday and Saturday at the Tony's Pizza Events Center, posting five consecutive straight-set victories, capped by Saturday's 25-21, 26-24 win over Blue Valley in the championship match.
The Junior Blues capped a 45-1 season with their 44th straight victory while earning the school's eighth state volleyball championship.
Washburn Rural senior star Brooklyn DeLeye spikes the ball in Saturday's Class 6A state championship match. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Four-year Rural star Brooklyn DeLeye, a Kentucky commit, had finished second, third and fourth in her previous three state appearances, including a loss to Blue Valley in the 2019 final and said Saturday's win was a perfect way to end her high school career.
"Especially playing Blue Valley, like we did freshman year and getting second, it was just unbelievable that we actually came out on top,'' DeLeye said. "It feels great, especially for the seniors, who had gone all four years without one, just ending it out with a state championship is really cool.''
Rural junior Jada Ingram said this year's state tournament was all about making up for last season when the Junior Blues posted 41 straight wins before the two state losses.
"I felt like we had a chip on our shoulder from last year,'' Ingram said. "I didn't think we had any pressure on us, we just wanted to go into the game and play our game so we could come out on top.
"We've been thinking about that for a year and obviously we thought about it long and hard because now we're state champs. We practiced hard every day to get to this spot.''
Veteran Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said that even when the Junior Blues would go through a bad play or two they bounced right back, something they were unable to do in 2021.
"We didn't dwell on it and just seemed like we fought and scrapped and found a way,'' Bordewick said. "I think we learned from last year and I thought our mentality was better as far as, 'We're going to go earn it, we're going to go compete, we're going to find joy in the sport,' and I think that showed through the whole thing.''
The top-seeded Junior Blues breezed through pool play on Friday without allowing more than 20 points in their six sets on the day, including a 25-15, 25-18 win over Blue Valley, and then earned their title shot with a 25-9, 25-18 semifinal win over Mill Valley.
Blue Valley, which finished its season 31-11 after it third loss of the year to Washburn Rural, led on multiple occasions in the first set of the final, including 3-1, 8-4 and 12-9, but the Junior Blues used a 7-1 run to take a 16-13 lead and held off the Tigers the remainder of the set for the four-point victory.
DeLeye got three of Rural's final five points of the set on kills and senior Chloe Carlgren and junior Zoe Canfield teamed up for a block to close out the win.
The second set was close throughout, including ties at 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23 and 24 before Rural scored the final two points of the match, resulting in a team dogpile to celebrate the win.
Washburn Rural senior Chloe Carlgren celebrates a block in Saturday's Class 6A state title match against Blue Valley. [Photo by Brent Maycock/TSN]
"It's amazing,'' Carlgren said. "When they were giving out awards and they were awarding (fourth-place) Mill Valley I was like, 'I can't believe we were there last year,' and it's just an amazing feeling to be this team.
"To have that immediate feeling when we won I couldn't beieve it. I started shaking.''
Saturday's championship was Rural's first in volleyball since 2012.
"It's just hard to do,'' Bordewick said. "But this is a special group for tons of reasons and the last four years with this senior group and the way they've fought and worked hard and gotten better every year and to overcome the self doubt that was planted last year I think is tremendous on their part.
"I'm just proud of everything they've done.''
MATCH RESULTS
Semifinals -- Washburn Rural def. Mill Valley, 25-9, 25-18; Blue Valley def. Blue Valley North, 25-22, 25-20.
Championship -- Washburn Rural def. Blue Valley, 25-21, 26-24.
Third -- Blue Valley North def. Mill Valley, 25-16, 25-18.
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