Volleyball Slam Recap
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I know…I know! This happened almost two weeks ago. Well, the day before the Slam I experienced something for the first time in my life…Covid! And today I finally tested negative so playing catch up a little as I felt…
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Continue ReadingI know…I know! This happened almost two weeks ago. Well, the day before the Slam I experienced something for the first time in my life…Covid! And today I finally tested negative so playing catch up a little as I felt like doing nothing. So where do we start? We will start with me going 6-2 on my picks. Blue Valley Northwest and Bishop Miege were my mishaps, so not bad overall. Here’s a quick recap of the matches.
Olathe East vs. Blue Valley
We came to learn Olathe East grabbed their first Slam win since 2018 in the opening match. The Hawks walked away with a sweep, winning -22, -18. There wasn’t a ton of offense in the match for East as they finished with only 18 kills in the two sets, led by Chole Tyrrell with six in the match. Where they lacked offensively they made up for a little behind the service line, grabbing six aces in the contest. Junior Audrey Willis had three of them, followed by senior Maddie Wilcox with two.
Blue Valley Northwest vs. Washburn Rural
Though Washburn Rural is the defending champs, we thought Blue Valley Northwest could pull off the big win and it appeared that way after they dominated set 1, -16. The second set was much more competitive with Washburn Rural and their experience proving to be key as they would win the next two sets with match scores, -21 to capture the match. Sophomore Morgan Sears Morgan Sears 5'11" | OH Blue Valley Northwest | 2026 State KS played big for the Huskies, finishing the battle with 15 kills. Junior Summer Anderson Summer Anderson 5'7" | DS/L Blue Valley Northwest | 2025 State KS had 18 digs along the back row.
Shawnee Mission Northwest vs. Lansing
Julie Slater returned to the Lansing sideline this year and the first set didn’t go as anticipated with the Cougars racing out to a 25-20 first-set victory behind the play of senior Liv Martin and freshman Bo Bronson Bo Bronson 5'10" | OH Shawnee Mission Northwest | 2027 State KS . We discussed in our preview and rankings that Lansing has an experienced squad back and they didn’t get rattled after dropping the first and stormed back for a -17 second set. The final set was a back-and-forth but Lansing would pull it out -22. The Laincz family contributed to 13 of the team’s 28 kills with Anna Laincz Anna Laincz 5'10" | OH Lansing | 2024 State KS grabbing 8 and freshman Halle Laincz Halle Laincz 5'11" | RS Lansing | 2027 State KS getting 5. Sophomore Avery Sands Avery Sands 5'7" | OH Lansing | 2026 State KS also added 7 of her own. Martin and Bronson combined for 15 kills and setter Lilli Webber, a sophomore dished out 24 assists.
Mill Valley vs. Blue Valley West
It looked bleak early when setter Lily Wedman Lily Wedman 5'8" | S Blue Valley West | 2025 State KS appeared to get banged up a little before the match. A team returning many key players would get pick-me-ups from two freshmen, Peyton Kubik and Sasha Cromer Sasha Cromer 5'11" | S Blue Valley West | 2027 State KS to earn the sweep over Mill Valley. Cromer under the big lights in her first varsity match dialed up 20 assists and Kubik was a beneficiary of those dimes earning 12 kills. The defense also played well with Brookelyn Hatton Brookelyn Hatton 5'4" | DS/L Blue Valley West | 2025 State KS and Carlie Pandjaris Carlie Pandjaris 5'8" | OH Blue Valley West | 2026 State KS teaming up for 17 of the 30 digs on the day.
St. Teresa’s Academy vs. Bishop Miege
Twinks and the Stars raced out to a 25-22 first-set win over Bishop Miege in the state-line rivalry. The Stars may have been underlooked a tad losing a few key players but senior Margot Randall led the way with 7 kills to complete the sweep after a spirited 26-24 second set. Lily Stuart Lily Stuart 5'8" | S St. Teresa's | 2026 State MO was one of two Stars setters and finished with 11 assists. Miege got 7 kills apiece from Lauren Lopez Lauren Lopez 5'10" | OH Bishop Miege | 2025 State KS and Kirston Verhulst Kirston Verhulst 5'8" | OH Bishop Miege | 2025 State KS .
Blue Valley North vs. Lee’s Summit West
Blue Valley North looked in midseason form and was strong in their opening match. They were dominated in the first set, getting a -12 beat down. The Titans fought back and competed in the second but dropped the set and match. Janelle Green Janelle Green 5'9" | S Blue Valley North | 2024 State #68 Nation KS and Logan Parks Logan Parks 5'11" | S Blue Valley North | 2025 State #8 Nation KS had 6 kills each and had all of the team’s assists in the contest. The Mustangs had 8 aces.
Olathe Northwest vs. St. Thomas Aquinas
This was a pretty good match considering the Ravens were missing one of the top players in the country as she was out of the country completing Team USA duties. I loved the fight from Olathe Northwest and they showed they will be a team to be reckoned with. Aquinas was too strong across the board as they grabbed the -19, -22 sweep. Jillian Huckabey Jillian Huckabey 6'0" | OH Olathe Northwest | 2024 State #74 Nation KS had 10 kills in a losing effort. St. Thomas was very balanced on offense with Tatum Grimes Tatum Grimes 6'2" | MB St. Thomas Aquinas | 2024 State #184 Nation KS and Kelsey Schenck Kelsey Schenck 5'11" | S St. Thomas Aquinas | 2024 State KS leading the way with 6 each.
Liberty North vs. St. James Academy
We got the answer early on that Carlie Cisneros Carlie Cisneros 6'0" | OH Liberty North | 2024 State #7 Nation MO was taped up and playing. It didn’t matter because St. James was clicking and showed why we have them as our top-ranked team to start the year, winning in straight sets -16, -15. Four Thunder players had at least four kills, with Julia Headley Julia Headley 6'2" | MB St. James | 2024 State #103 Nation KS (8) and sophomore Leah Robinson Leah Robinson 6'0" | OH St. James | 2026 State KS (6) leading the onslaught. Reese Messer Reese Messer 5'11" | S St. James | 2025 State #6 Nation KS finished the night with 22 assists. Liberty North only had 10 kills on the night offensively.