By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Later this month former Seaman volleyball star Maegan Mills will report to Tulsa to kick off her Division I collegiate career.
Former Seaman volleyball star Maegan Mills (8) celebrates a point with her Blue teammates during Saturday's five-set KVA All-Star win over the Red. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But before that Mills got the opportunity to put an exclamation point on her outstanding high school career, helping lead the Blue team to a 26-24, 25-27, 19-25, 27-25, 15-11 win over the Red in Saturday's Kansas Volleyball Association All-Star Match at Washburn Rural.
"It's definitely a way to get a head start and get touches on balls,'' Mills said. "After club and high school it's hard to get touches on balls and when I was offered that position to play with such great people I couldn't pass it up.''
Mills was the most dominant player on the court on Saturday, contributing a match-high 23 kills on 0.417 hitting with a match-high six service aces. After the match Mills was named the winner of the Joan Lundstrom Wells Award of Excellence.
"Just coming in this morning all the girls are great, the energy was so good, and coming into this game it wasn't just about the playing it was about meeting new people and expanding,'' Mills said. "Even though you may not know these people you have to be a leader and I think that was my mindset, that I had to be a leader.''
Mills was one of seven Shawnee County players selected to play in Saturday's event, including a match-high four Seaman players.
Seaman product Kinley Wilhelm had a match-high 27 digs for the Blue in Saturday's KVA All-Star Match. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Mills and Kinley Wilhelm, who recorded a match-high 27 digs, played for the winning Blue team while Campbell Chabot and Ava Esser played for the Red.
Recent Seaman grad Campbell Chabot registered 20 assists for the Red in Saturday's KVA All-Star Match. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Red team celebrates a kill from Seaman product Ava Esser (9) in Saturday's KVA All-Star Match. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Esser led the Red with 15 kills and received the Don Bechard Memorial Award after the match while Chabot was credited with 20 assists.
"It was fun,'' Mills said. "There was a lot of crap talking at the net sometimes but even though I wasn't with them it was another good chance to play with Campbell and Ava and of course playing with Kinley again for technically one last time was great and I know some of the other girls, too, and playing with them was really fun.''
Washburn Rural product Layla Collins had 11 kills, 15 digs and five service aces for the Red in Saturday's KVA All-Star Match. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural products Layla Collins and Kate Hinck, who are both headed to Washburn to play volleyball and soccer, respectively, both played for the Red along with Silver Lake's Ella Bolan.
Collins contributed 11 kills, 15 digs and five service aces while Hinck had three aces.
KVA ALL-STAR MATCH
Blue def. Red, 26-24, 25-27, 19-25, 27-25, 15-11.
Individual awards
Joan Lundstrom Wells Award of Excellence -- Maegan Mills, Seaman.
Flo Hyman Scholarship -- Hallie Holthaus, Nemaha Central.
Judy Bellomo Most Inspirational Award -- Jordyn Washington, Andover Central.
Don Bechard Memorial Award -- Ava Esser, Seaman.
