By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The Washburn Rural volleyball team is returning to the Class 6A state tournament again after a clean sweep at sub-state.
Washburn Rural rolled over its sub-state competitors Saturday afternoon at Washburn Rural, improving to 40-1 on the season.
Washburn Rural volleyball poses with its championship trophy after winning Saturday's Class 6A sub-state tournament while improving to 40-1 on the season. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
With a 25-6, 25-6 semifinal win over Dodge City and a 25-12, 25-11 over Centennial League rival Manhattan, the Junior Blues punched their ticket to the 6A state tournament next Friday and Saturday at the Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina.
"Every year is different, but the feeling never gets old," Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. "We know we have a lot of things to do to get better, but we have four days of practice to work on it.
"We can't think about a championship yet because we need to take it one day at a time."
Washburn Rural senior Brooklyn DeLeye, regarded as one of the best volleyball players in the nation, was a difference maker on Saturday.
The Kentucky commit's serves, shiftiness and kills in the sub-state matches gave the Lady Blues the boost they needed.
"I don't know if I would be the player I am today without all of the support that I have been given," DeLeye said. "Being in this gym for the last four years has been life-changing. It's going to be sad not to play volleyball in this gym again. I've come so far since I got here.
"I couldn't have done any of this without my teammates. They have always had my back. My teammates have made me better on and off the court. I wouldn't be anywhere without my teammates."
Missouri Western State commit Taylor Russell also had a stellar day at the net.
Russell was a game wrecker for Dodge City and Manhattan.
Jada Ingram, Layla Collins, Zoe Canfield, Chloe Carlgren and the rest of the Lady Blues showcased how poised and complete Washburn Rural was.
The Lady Blues started their hardware-winning day by playing Dodge City in the semifinals. The Lady Demons had to win a play-in game against Wichita North to face Rural.
Dodge City was outmatched by Washburn Rural's ability to dive at the ball and its freakish athleticism, which has given nearly every opposing school grief.
The Lady Demons' chances of knocking off Washburn Rural were slim and they would have to dig deep to put some points on the board.
The Lady Blues wound up outscoring Dodge City 50-12 in its two sets played and Washburn Rural would advance to the sub-state championship to face Manhattan.
Before this sub-state matchup, these Centennial League teams had met three times during the 2022 regular season. Washburn Rural had won all three matches by a two-set sweeps.
Rural would jump to enormous leads early and never let the Lady Indians gain any momentum.
"Manhattan was quite good today," Bordewick said. "That was also the fourth time that we played (Manhattan). We had a pretty good understanding of what they would try and do. I thought we did a good job of taking their strengths away, defensively."
MATCH RESULTS
Play-in: Dodge City def. Wichita North, 25-13, 25-17.
Semifinals: Washburn Rural def. Dodge City, 25-6, 25-6; Manhattan def. Derby, 27-25, 22-25, 27-25.
Championship: Washburn Rural def. Manhattan, 25-12, 25-11.
