AXTELL — Marmaton Valley High’s volleyball team went 1-1 Tuesday in their Class 1A-II regional competition, sufficient enough to advance to the regional final round.
A 25-16 and 25-20 win over Chetopa in their first round was pivotal for the Wildcats, who then lost in straight sets to Axtell, 25-7 and 25-10, in the final match of the triangular.
The Wildcats took control early against Chetopa, putting together a five-point run behind the serving of Taylen Blevins. Danica Aeillo served three more points to push the lead to 20-11.
The Chetopa Hornets could not get within eight points from there.
In the second set, the Hornets had a 5-0 run to take a 10-6 lead.
The Wildcats’ Andie Carr served up three straight points to pull them within one.
Marmaton Valley trailed 17-16 when Aiello put had three straight service points to give the Wildcats the lead for good. Bella Winner served up two straight to make it 24-18 before the Wildcats took the point off a Hornet serve to seal the match.
AXTELL, the second seed in Marmaton Valley’s regional, wasted no time taking control of its match against the Wildcats.
The Eagles scored the first five points in the opener and never looked back, stretching the lead to 9-2 and 21-6.
Another 4-0 run in the second set pushed Axtell ahead 8-5 to take the lead for good. The Eagles strung together four-, six- and three-point runs before ending the match on a 9-0 spurt to take the win.
Axtell, which also defeated Chetopa in straight sets, will travel alongside Marmaton Valley (6-18) to the sub-state tournament. The Kansas High School Activities Association did not release the tournament brackets ahead of press time.
