State Preview: Any Of The Eight 3A Teams Can Win

The Class 3A tournament is one I wish I could be at as I feel it will be one of the two best tournaments in the state along with Class 5A. Every team in this tournament has at least 20 wins and half the field has 30 or more.   Eight teams punched their tickets for the Class 3A State Tournament which will be played in Hutchinson.   Pools of four teams were announced on October 22. The top two teams in each pool qualify for the semifinals on Saturday. Class 3A teams will play in the morning session at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.   I looked for one player on each team to highlight and I focused on writing about a player I did not feature in last week's sub-state previews.   Here is the third of multiple previews of the seven state tournaments being played October 27-28.   No. 1 Seed: Beloit (37-2)   [player_tooltip player_id='119714' first='Mylie' last='Brown'], 5'9”, OH/RS, Beloit, ‘24   Beloit's roster is loaded with talent and experience. Brown has 334 kills this season and is a member of the 1,000-kill club. She is also a member of the 1,000-digs club and has registered 196 digs during her senior season. The Trojans will compete in Pool A and begin the tournament facing No. 8 Seed Goodland at 9:30 a.m. Fans beware I am predicting this tournament will run behind schedule all day with multiple three-set matches.   No. 2 Seed: Neodesha (36-3)   [player_tooltip player_id='493370' first='Prayer' last='Roebuck'], 5'10”, S/RS, Neodesha, ‘25   I saw Roebuck play over the summer and she has some tight skills. She is a versatile player who can play multiple positions. The back of her volleyball card would need a small font because her numbers are so large. Through 79 sets played she has racked up 462 kills, 303 assists, and 157 digs. The Blue Streaks will play in Pool B and will open the tournament against No. 7 seed Riverton in a match scheduled for a 9:30 a.m. start time.   No. 3 Seed: Cheney (35-4)   Alex Bittner, 5'9”, DS, Cheney, ‘24   Bittner is a solid defensive player who can also jump and hit. Her stat line is filled up with 587 serve receptions, 524 digs, and 456 kills. She will be leaned on to help the Cardinals advance in a winnable Pool B. Cheney begins the tournament with a match against No. 6 seed Silver Lake at 8:30 a.m.   No. 4 Seed: Heritage Christian (34-4)   [player_tooltip player_id='119708' first='Rachel' last='Van Gorp'], 5'9”, OH, Heritage Christian, ‘24   Van Gorp is one-half of a two-headed hitting machine for the Chargers. She has a team-high 338 kills and owns a career total of 1,527 career kills. She also has an impressive serve which has led to 74 assists. Outside hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='119704' first='Cy' last='Rae Campbell'] is the second head of the machine with 267 kills. The Chargers will compete in Pool A and face the No. 5 seed Smoky Valley in the first round in an 8:30 match.   No. 5 Seed: Smoky Valley (29-11)   [player_tooltip player_id='172463' first='Adrian' last='Hazelwood'], 5'7”, S, Smoky Valley, ‘24   The Vikings are making their fourth straight appearance in the state tournament. Hazelwood is the setter who runs the offense for Smoky Valley. She has collected 910 assists and with a high-scoring tournament, she could reach 3,000 assists for her career. The Vikings will face Heritage Christian Academy in Pool A play to open their weekend.   No. 6 Seed: Silver Lake (28-11)   [player_tooltip player_id='219726' first='Ella' last='Bolan'], 5'11”, OH/MH,  Silver Lake, ‘25   Bolan is one of the best hitters in Kansas from the Class of 2025. She can play six rotations and leads the team in kills with 282. Bolan is third on the team in digs with 318. Silver Lake is a deep team and has three attackers with 200-plus kills. The Eagles will play in Pool B and have a solid chance of advancing to the final four on Saturday.   No. 7 Seed: Riverton (25-10)   Josie Harper, 5'5”, S/DS, Riverton ‘24   Haper is part of the glue that makes the Rams successful. She leads the team in assists with 345. She also has collected 173 digs during her senior season. The Rams will play in Pool B and their first opponent is the No. 2 Seed Neodesha.   No. 8 Seed: Goodland (23-15)   [player_tooltip player_id='515445' first='Jaxi' last='Mitchek'], 5'9”, OH, Goodland, ‘24   Mitchek is a six-rotation star for Goodland. She has racked up 387 kills, 431 digs, and 523 serve receptions. If Goodland is to advance out of pool play Mitchek will need to be on her A-Game. Goodland begins play against No. 1 seed Beloit in Pool A. Goodland is the one major surprise in this field as they defeated the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in their sub-state to advance to Hutchinson.

The Class 3A tournament is one I wish I could be at as I feel it will be one of the two best tournaments in the state along with Class 5A. Every team in this tournament has at least 20 wins and half the field has 30 or more.