Quarterfinal #1: Troy def. Burlingame 26-28, 27-25, 25-19

Troy jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead in an exciting opening set with Burlingame responding with a rally to go up 11-6. Just when it felt like the Bearcats had all the momentum, the Trojans called a timeout and rattled off nine straight points to go up 15-11. Troy grew their lead to 23-18, but Burlingame scored five straight points to tie it 23-23. Both teams traded points until it was 26-26, and the Bearcats put it away with the final two points of the set to win it 28-26.

Burlingame kept it up with a quick 5-0 start and led for most of the set until Troy got their first lead at 20-19. It was back and forth for the rest of the set much like we saw in the opening set, it was 23-23 with both teams trading points until it was 25-25, with Troy scoring the last two. A service error from Burlingame and an ace from Allison Franken, who had been helping her team all night long with an abundance of kills, sent the match to a third set with the Trojans taking set number two 27-25.

It was close for the beginning portion of the set, but it wasn’t until it was 13-13 that the first major run of the set began as Troy scored five in a row to go up 18-13 before Burlingame called a timeout. The Bearcats hoped to rally out of the break, but Troy was too much as they surged forward to get the lead up to seven with Troy winning the set 25-19.

The Trojans got great play up front from Franken, Harper Whetstine, Gracie Grable, Karlie Grable and Emerson Weber. Nicole Judd and Makenzie Christenson made some great digs and Eva Fuemmeler did a terrific job setting up her hitters all match long. The Trojans won their fifth match in a row which is their longest winning streak since September of 2014.

Quarterfinal #2: Doniphan West def. Northern Heights 25-17, 25-17

Northern Heights kept it close early in the first set with a 6-5 deficit, but Doniphan West was able to score four in a row to force a timeout. The Mustangs rode with the momentum and grew their lead to as much as nine with it getting to 20-11. From there, Doniphan West cleaned up the set to win it 25-17.

Much like the first set, the Wildcats didn’t fold in the early portion of the set trailing 4-4. It was then, though, that the Mustangs got five straight and seven of the next eight to go up 12-5. They continued to increase their lead, which got up to 14 with a 23-9 lead. However, Northern Heights didn’t go away as they scored seven points in a row. The Mustangs were still able to get those final two points to win the match.

Katie Johnson continued her amazing season with a slew of kills with her setter Belle Smith arguably having the best performance out of everyone on D-West. Malaina Whetstine, Taygen Reno and Hannah Albers were also benefactors of Smith’s great play up front. They also had great play from Courtney Johnson, Brennah Edie and Kya Keller. H’Leigha Idol, Ali Foster and Brooklyn Rawles came into the game late into the second set to put away the Wildcats.

Semifinal #1: Centralia def. Troy 25-20, 21-25, 25-16

Centralia gathered an early run to go up 6-2 and was able to keep Troy within the 4-6 point range during the beginning of the set. They would keep them at the range for the rest of the way and grow their lead to as large as seven to make it 22-15 before Troy called their second timeout. The Trojans kept themselves alive for a moment by scoring four of the next five points to make it 23-19, but Centralia was able to win the set 25-20.

Troy got out to a quick early 6-2 lead and had it for the entirety of the first half of the second set including a 15-12 lead that forced the Panthers to call timeout. The lead grew to 18-13, then Centralia got four in a row right back to make it 18-17. Whenever Centralia went on a mini-run Troy was able to respond as they scored five straight for the Trojans 22-17 to force another Panther timeout. Out of the break, Centralia stormed back with three straight points to get Troy to call their first timeout with the Trojans leading 22-20. Kelli Rodgers’ team responded by winning three of the last four points in the set to win set number two 25-21.

It was another 6-2 early lead for Troy with five points scored in a row to start the third set. The Panthers rallied back scoring 11 of the next 14 points to take a 13-9 lead. They would continue to grow the lead and Centralia would run away with it with a lead as much as 12 points.

Oen Deters and Marissa Broxterman found the empty spots on the court with Tatum Kramer feeding them to perfection. Freshmen Hayden Kramer and Josie Haverkamp were also big contributors in the win.

Semifinal #2: Doniphan West def. Bishop Seabury Academy 25-20, 25-19

Bishop Seabury got out to a quick 6-2 lead, but that was halted quickly by six straight by Doniphan West. The Mustangs did a great job at holding the Seahawks at arms-length with the lead not shrinking to fewer than three points to win the set 25-20.

D-West led for the entirety of the first half of the second set except for a 13-13 tie. They were able to grow their lead back to three and keep the Seahawks away from making it close. The Mustangs avoided drama and advanced to the championship with a 25-19 set victory.

Another dominant performance from Katie Johnson and Belle Smith. Malaina Whetstine and Taygen Reno once again were on fire up front with some nice diving efforts on the back line by libero Brennah Edie, Ava Gladhart and others.

Championship: Centralia def. Doniphan West 24-26, 25-12, 25-16

Centralia led most of the first set and had a 17-13 lead. Doniphan West would score six of the next seven to make it 19-17. From there, it was a back-and-forth bout with both teams trading monster blows. Both of the Twin Valley League teams did a great job of avoiding mistakes down the stretch. In the end, though, it was Doniphan West pulling away in extras to win 26-24.

Centralia scored four straight at the beginning of set number two to make it 7-4 Centralia, but D-West scored four of the next five to tie it 8-8. Something clicked for Centralia, as they scored the next ten straight points and 15 of the next 17 to go up 23-10. They were able to clean the last two points with no problem to win the second set 25-12 and extend the match to a third set.

The Panthers continued their momentum from the second scoring the first four points of the third set. Doniphan West was able to punch right back with three straight of their own. After back-to-back points for Centralia, the Mustangs tied it up 6-6. Centralia was able to increase their lead to 10-7 with Doniphan West calling its first timeout. Doniphan West rallied back scoring three of next four make it 11-10 Panthers. Centralia started applying pressure with multiple kills and tapped into their second set and ran away with the third set by a final of 25-16.

Here is what Centralia head coach Cindy Osterhaus had to say after the game.

The Panthers will be competing in Dodge City in a quest for their 16th state title next Friday and Saturday.