Kansas 6A Wrap Up

We are a week late on this but for those new to following me, my Missouri family understands certain seasons are busier for me in my "primary" work schedule, and that happened to be last week for me. But better late than never and what a weekend it was in Kansas 6A.

We stated from the beginning it would be a dog fight. It is extremely difficult to finish a season undefeated and what we thought would happen, didn’t. Let us remind you of our predictions. Final Four we had Washburn Rural, Olathe Northwest, Wichita Northwest, and Blue Valley North. We then predicted Washburn would beat Wichita Northwest and Blue Valley North over Olathe Northwest. We were almost perfect. The defending state champion said, "not so fast", defeating both Wichita Northwest and Lawrence Free State. 

We were accurate in our pick of Blue Valley North defeating Olathe Northwest. The third set was an epic 25-23 win for the Mustangs. If you like offense, close your eyes! Both teams didn’t hit well, .128 for Northwest and .134 for Blue Valley. Freshman Logan Parks Logan Parks 5'11" | S Blue Valley North | 2025 State #9 Nation KS had 13 kills and senior Jasmine Dulan Jasmine Dulan 5'7" | OH Blue Valley North | 2022 State KS added 10. Skyler Pierce Skyler Pierce 6'3" | OH Olathe Northwest | 2024 State #4 Nation KS paced the Olathe team with 10 kills.

In the other semi-final, Washburn-Rural attempted to keep their perfect record intact, facing the reigning state champs. If you thought 25-23 was an epic set for a place in the title match, how about 28-26. That was the final score in which Blue Valley West upset the favorite. Taylor Stockman Taylor Stockman 5'11" | OH Blue Valley West | 2022 State KS got busy, with 19 kills in the three-set match. Freshman Lily Wedman had 30 assists. 

The wins set up a rematch from pool play where Blue Valley North won in three, with a 25-21 third. Set 1 saw Blue Valley North dominate winning it 25-10 before capturing their first state title in a 25-23 second set. It was the Mustang defense that was key holding West to a .-60 hitting percentage for the match. Logan Parks Logan Parks 5'11" | S Blue Valley North | 2025 State #9 Nation KS was again key with 9 kills and 10 assists. Nora Carlsen Nora Carlsen 5'7" | DS/L Blue Valley North | 2023 State KS and Janelle Green Janelle Green 5'9" | S Blue Valley North | 2024 State #68 Nation KS had 9 digs each. The bright spot offensively for Blue Valley West was Brooke Leiker Brooke Leiker 6'0" | OH Blue Valley West | 2022 State KS ’s 7 kills and over .300 hitting percentage. 

The third-place match saw Washburn-Rural finishing their once undefeated season on a two-game losing streak, being downed by Olathe Northwest 26-24, 25-18. We said Northwest was a dangerous team come state tournament and they proved us right walking away with the third-place trophy. Skyler Pierce Skyler Pierce 6'3" | OH Olathe Northwest | 2024 State #4 Nation KS hit .314 with 13 kills and Jillian Huckabey Jillian Huckabey 6'0" | OH Olathe Northwest | 2024 State #74 Nation KS dropped 9 of her own. Sophomore Emmy Sher Emmy Sher 5'8" | DS/L Olathe Northwest | 2024 State KS led the way with 19 digs.