MORAN — Marmaton Valley High’s volleyball season came to an end Wednesday, in the Wildcats’ first foray into the state playoffs since 1979.
And with the pieces they will have in place after this year, their head coach is optimistic they won’t have to wait another 41 years to return.
Wednesday’s conclusion came amid a flurry of extended runs from visiting Central Christian High, which seized control midway through the third set and never looked back in a 25-18, 22-25, 25-15 and 25-13 victory.
The loss, coming in the quarterfinals of the Kansas Class 1A-II State Tournament, ends Marmaton Valley’s season at 20-12.
“Of course they’re going to be sad,” head coach Terra Kegler said afterward. “I told the girls, it’s nothing to hang their heads about. It was a good season. I can’t complain about that.”
Even better, the Wildcats look as if they’ll be around a while. Marmaton Valley loses a pair of valuable seniors in Makayla Ard and libero Haylee Meiwes, but return a slew of athletic — and now experienced — core group of players.
“We’ll still be young next year, too,” Kegler said, noting the number of freshmen and sophomores who contributed this year.
The team’s youthful energy may have played against the Wildcats at times, Kegler noted.
Central Christian opened the match with a powerful show of force from its towering front line, blasting several kills from the outside and racing to an early 13-4 lead.
It took Marmaton Valley a while to find its legs, and the Wildcats rebounded, pulling within 22-16, but no closer in the opening set defeat.
The teams went back and forth in the second set, with Central Christian eventually taking the upper hand and forcing Kegler to call timeout with MV trailing 20-14.
What followed was the Wildcats’ most impressive play of the night, with Aly Ard scoring three kills and Janae Granere another to pull within 21-20.
This time it was the Cougars’ turn to feel the pressure. Central Christian allowed one volley to fall untouched to the floor to pull MV within 22-21. Aly Ard’s kill on the next point knotted the score, and extended rallies on the next three points each ended with Central Christian hitting the ball out of bounds on kill attempts to give the Wildcats the set, 25-22.
Marmaton Valley rode that wave of momentum into the third set, forging ahead 10-8.
But a Cougar timeout led to a game-altering strategy for Central Christian.
Instead of continuously pounding kills from the front line, the Cougars frequently sent light taps over the net, beyond the Wildcat blockers, but in front of the back line defenders — a strategy adroitly explained by baseball Hall-of-Famer “Wee Willie” Keeler as “Hit ‘em where they ain’t.”
