By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Class 4A No. 2-ranked Hayden volleyball fought through plenty of ups and downs in Tuesday's home quadrangular at the Bueltel Activity Center.
Hayden volleyball celebrates a kill from sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein (22) Tuesday as the Wildcats went 3-0 on the night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But Corrinne McGreevy's Wildcats were at their best when it counted the most, knocking off 6A foes Shawnee Mission East, Manhattan and perennial city and state power Washburn Rural to improve to 4-0 on the young 2025 season.
"I am so proud of these girls,'' McGreevy said. "I always tell the girls, it's not going to be perfect, but they have to stick together on the court and if you have grit and you stay together and you can stay in control, great things are going to happen.
"Three things you can control -- being a good teammate, your communication and how hard you work -- and if they can do all three of those things great things are going to happen and that's exactly what they did. I believe that my girls can play on any high school volleyball court in the nation because they believe in themselves and they stick together.''
After dispatching SM East 25-16, 25-19 in its opening match of the night, Hayden, third in 4A last season, dropped a 25-21 decision in its first set against Manhatttan and got down early in the second set before rallying to take the match with 25-23 and 25-17 wins.
Hayden senior Ella Foster sets the ball in Tueday's home volleyball quad. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I think something flipped in our mind and we were like, 'This is our game, we came here to win and they're not beating us in our house,' so we came out and showed up that second set and from there on, we pushed through,'' senior Ella Foster said.
Spurred on by the win over the Indians, the Wildcats responded with their best volleyball of the night, closing out their 3-0 night with a 25-23, 25-15 win over the No. 5-ranked (6A) Junior Blues.
"Definitely beating Manhattan in three was huge,'' Foster said. "We came out against Rural just fired up. They're our hometown rival and we've never beat them in the four years I've been here, so it was amazing to come out and beat them in two.''
"I think we totally played as a team, even when we were down, which is a big thing,'' said Wildcat sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein, who had a dominating night at the net and capp the win over Rural with a kill. "Thanks to our seniors (Foster and Reese Huscher) and thanks to our junior, (Mallory) Tanking, that is such a huge part of the game, having those leaders that pick you up when you make mistakes.''
Washburn Rural senior Stelly Kelly sets the ball Tuesday night at Hayden. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural, now 3-1 on the season, beat Manhattan, 25-23, 22, in a battle of 2024 Class 6A state tournament teams and outlasted SM East in a three-set match, 25-21, 23-25, 25-14, before the loss to Hayden.
Manhattan picked up a 25-22, 25-22 win in its final match of the night against SM East.
MATCH RESULTS
Hayden def. Shawnee Mission East, 25-16, 25-19; Washburn Rural def. Manhattan, 25-23, 25-22; Hayden def. Manhattan, 21-25, 25-23, 25017; Washburn Rural def. Shawnee Mission East, 25-21, 23-25, 25-14; Manhattan def. Shawnee Mission East, 25-22, 25-22; Hayden def. Washburn Rural, 25-23, 25-15.
