Kansas 5A Substate Bonner Springs Sites
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The postseason is here and this will be my first go-around at covering Kansas postseason. If you are like me and new to the substate versions, then let’s ponder together why it’s called the Bonner Springs sites and yet Bonner…
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Continue ReadingThe postseason is here and this will be my first go-around at covering Kansas postseason. If you are like me and new to the substate versions, then let’s ponder together why it’s called the Bonner Springs sites and yet Bonner Springs is not a host school. After talking to some colleagues and locals, the 4 “substates” are actually hosted by the higher-seeded teams in the four brackets or quadrants. Therefore the following Substates are based on their wins and losses record (winning percentage) as we have St Thomas Aquinas at #1 (32-3), followed by last year’s state runner up St. James Academy (31-3). Seaman is #3 with a 28-8 record, and Lansing #4 vying to defend their state title (24-7).
St. Thomas Aquinas Substate
The first Play-in match will feature Bonner Springs and Highland Park. I watched Bonner Springs played earlier this month at the Janice Van Gorp Classic. They relied heavily on senior setter Wren VanCleave in their offensive system and sometimes plays as a hitter to get them going. Highland Park Scots do have more wins in the season but it will all depends how they’ll play collectively as a unit. I see an upset as Bonner Springs take the first match to face St. Thomas Aquinas in the first semifinal match. Aquinas team is loaded with talent and I can list all of them if needed to. To be concise, too many hitters in Betsy Goodenow Betsy Goodenow 6'0" | RS St. Thomas Aquinas | 2023 State #92 Nation KS , Alea Goolsby Alea Goolsby 5'11" | OH St. Thomas Aquinas | 2025 State #36 Nation KS , and Tatum Grimes Tatum Grimes 6'2" | MB St. Thomas Aquinas | 2024 State #184 Nation KS will power the Saints to the final.
The 8/9 match will be a tough one in Blue Valley Southwest and Piper. Blue Valley Southwest is in “rebuilding” mode from watching them often this season. However, all-around athletes in senior Reese Bates Reese Bates 5'10" | DS/L Blue Valley SW | 2023 State KS and sophomore Kaylee Tingey Kaylee Tingey 5'9" | DS/L Blue Valley Southwest | 2025 State KS will proves them otherwise. Yes the resurgence of the freshman class in Willow Weninger Willow Weninger 6'1" | RS Blue Valley Southwest | 2026 State KS and Taylor Stanley Taylor Stanley 6'1" | OH Blue Valley Southwest | 2026 State KS has created a buzz in the future of the program but that’s not what’s important now. Statistically, Bates and Tingey will not be on any leaderboards because both have played so many positions for the Timberwolves (Bates, Jacksonville State commit, actually leads the team in aces with 44). Piper is a dark horse from this perspective. They have the wins but only a few quality wins against Olathe East and Shawnee Heights in the past month. Their stats are not updated on MaxPreps but based on whom I saw this season, they will rely on setter Abbie Roth Abbie Roth 5'9" | S Piper | 2025 State KS and outside hitter Delaney Cahill Delaney Cahill 5'11" | OH Piper | 2024 State KS . Roth can play setter and opposite if needed to and was utilized in a 5-1 scenario throughout the season. We’ll take the Timberwolves to face Aquinas in the final.
Aquinas flexed their muscle why they are the number 1 team in the state and takes home the substate trophy with Kelsey Schenck Kelsey Schenck 5'11" | S St. Thomas Aquinas | 2024 State KS and Alayna Vaeth Alayna Vaeth 5'9" | S St. Thomas Aquinas | 2026 State KS running their 6-2 offense.
Prep Dig Marshall = Aquinas
Twitter Poll = Aquinas (75%)
St James Academy Substate
Leavenworth and Pittsburg will be first in the play-in match before the winner moves on to play host St. James. No statistical data is inputted on MaxPreps from either teams but I know one in senior outside hitter Emma Kenny from Leavenworth. Kenny will be the go to player and be ready for her to pop off another 23 kill series like she did against Bonner Springs. Pittsburg might be in a disadvantage with their schedule as their two wins came from the same team in Field Kindley from Coffeyville. We take Leavenworth on this one. St. James will not wait around to get going as they have both the offensive unit as well as the defensive players to roll through the competition. We start with sophomore setter Reese Messer Reese Messer 5'11" | S St. James | 2025 State #6 Nation KS leading the offense with 591 assists on the season. She will have her hitters hot and ready from middle block Kate McKnight to her pins in Ava Spachek Ava Spachek 5'11" | OH St. James Academy | 2024 State KS and Ella L Goodwin. More impressively is that they have 4 strong defenders. Leading the way is junior libero Mya Bolton Mya Bolton 5'3" | DS/L St. James Academy | 2024 State #134 Nation KS with 306 digs and 280 receptions. The three others are Kansas commit, Heidi Devers Heidi Devers 5'4" | DS/L St. James | 2024 State KS (161 digs, 215 receptions), Lauren Brown Lauren Brown 5'3" | DS/L St. James | 2023 State KS (159 digs, 231 receptions), and Kate Blaesing (162 digs, 234 receptions). The Thunder will roll on through to the substate final.
The 7-10 matchup feature Spring Hill and Shawnee Heights. Theyplayed each other at the Olathe Northwest Invitation just a couple of weekends ago with Shawnee Heights pulling the victory. Spring Hill will feature their 1-2 workhorse in Shannon Frakes Shannon Frakes 6'0" | OH Spring Hill | 2024 State KS and Keilah Rivers Keilah Rivers 5'10" | OH Spring Hill | 2024 State KS as their pins. More importantly, can their middle blocker Jenna Weber be a difference maker as their top blocker? I said it before and I’m going to say it again, Shawnee Heights will be the dark horse in any competition. Watch for senior outside hitter Emily Loy Emily Loy OH Shawnee Heights | 2023 State KS taking charge of the offensive output. Libero Taylor Rottinhaus and setter Elise Curry are hidden gems from the bigger 5A schools. You’ll see the three of them all-over the court for Shawnee Heights as they upset Spring Hill.
St. James was the state runner-up last year and they will return to State to take another shot at a State Championship. Watch for Julia Headley Julia Headley 6'2" | MB St. James | 2024 State #103 Nation KS to be dominant in the middle.
Prep Dig Marshall = St. James
Twitter Poll = St. James (80%)
Seaman Substate
In our first 4 team bracket, Seaman hosts De Soto. Unfortunately, there are no stats entered on MaxPreps for either teams. Fortunately, I watched them play in person to give some insights on both teams. Seaman’s Maegan Mills Maegan Mills 6'0" | OH Seaman | 2025 State KS will start the offense their outside hitter. Watch for her to be active on the left and right side of the court. In the middle, we will have Brooklyn Gormley Brooklyn Gormley 5'11" | MB Topeka Seaman | 2024 State KS . Both were in my all-tournament honorable mention during Lansing’s Invitational. They’ll showcase a few more sophomores in setter Campbell Chabot Campbell Chabot 5'6" | S Topeka Seaman | 2025 State KS and leftie setter/opposite Jaida Stallbaumer Jaida Stallbaumer 5'8" | S Topeka Seaman | 2025 State KS . De Soto looks to their younger core players in sophomore Makenzie Farmer and freshmen Chloe Kmiecik Chloe Kmiecik 6'1" | MB De Soto | 2026 State KS to make a difference. Senior Erin Barr and Carson Schuman should provide some stability in their respective hitting and setting responsibilities. Seaman’s consistency will put them through the next round.
FL Schlagle vs Turner matchup will be an unknown to me as teams do not have their roster nor stats up on MaxPreps. To be respectful, we will take FL Schlagle to win this matchup with their better winning percentage.
Seaman’s experience, playing in twice as many matches, will give them a big advantage. We concur with our twitter poll and take Seaman to win their substate.
Prep Dig Marshall = Seaman
Twitter Poll = Seaman (95%)
Lansing Substate
Lansing will go as the defending State Champion and should be fine against Basehor-Linwood. The played once this year where Lansing cruised to a 25-12, 25-14 victory. Led by senior outside hitter Skylar Weaver Skylar Weaver 5'8" | OH Lansing | 2023 State KS , junior Anna Laincz Anna Laincz 5'10" | OH Lansing | 2024 State KS and Ashlynn Jaccard Ashlynn Jaccard 5'11" | MB Lansing | 2024 State KS , Lansing will have no barriers offensively. I’m starting to like the plays of setter Tabor Scanlon (759 assists) and libero Jessi Ritchhart (262 digs, 330 receptions) to compliment their offensive firepower. Basehor-Linwood will attempt to fight back from the plays of setter Taylor Cruse (who has 600 assists in the season), junior Harley Baker Harley Baker 5'7" | OH Basehor-Linwood | 2024 KS (190 kills), and Abbie Richards (290 digs, 348 receptions). We saw their lone battle earlier this season and we will see the same result with Lansing taking the rematch.
The 5-12 matchup will feature Sumner Academy and Washington. I have not watched either team so we’re basing this from statistical input on MaxPreps. Washington had some wins in the season but have not played well against tougher opponents. Looking through some of the scores, it seems that there’s a big skill gap between them and some of the bigger volleyball schools. Sumner did provide stats which is helpful on piecing together who they have. They turn to senior Annabelle Cacho (219 kills) and Kylie Mccleary (134 kills) to provide the offense. They look to running a 5-1 offense through Kenneth Rodriguez who has 380 assists this season. Libero Sui Par will round up the squad as their top defender with 172 digs and 216 receptions. Based on this analysis, we take Sumner Academy to move on.
We thought it might be Lansing’s rebuilding season but the defending state champ have proven otherwise. We take Lansing to return to Salina to defend their State Championship.
Prep Dig Marshall = Lansing
Twitter Poll = Lansing (94.1%)
Follow Twitter @PrepDigMarshall to participate in the twitter poll! Use #KSpickemSubstate22 and #SubstatePickEm to find past, current, and future polls!