BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Great Bend's Cassie Ellegood (13 winners, 3 blocks) enjoyed a volleyball match for the record books against Dodge City.
Ellegood closed out three consecutive sets with winners to spark a hard-fought 25-22, 25-21, 25-22 Western Athletic Conference volleyball victory Thursday.
Crafty setter Kya Behr (79 sets, 13 digs, 12 winners) fed Ellegood for back-to-back winners and Ellegood finished out set 1 with a block for a 25-22 win.
Set 2 looked identical when Ellegood/Behr teamed for a block and Behr fed Ellegood for back-to-back winners for a 25-22 victory.
Mikala Minton and Kara Feist (3 blocks) teamed for a block, and Ellegood delivered a trio of winners that ended Set 3.
"I've never hit three game winners in a row. That's a new one for me," Cassie Ellegood said. "Kya and I definitely have a connection. I look at her, and I'm thinking 'Give me the ball.'
The Panthers enjoyed quality teamwork keyed by a loud Panther student crowd. Micah Ellegood (5 winners), Kimmie Hofflinger (17 serves), Feist, Alex Mayers (11 serves, 10 serves received, 10 digs), Ava Kaiser (18 serves received, 7 digs) and Minton (11 serves received, 7 winners) contributed valuable plays.
Cassie Ellegood led set 1 with nine winning plays followed by Minton and Behr. Cassie Ellegood (17 serves) enjoyed a 5-point serving highlight and Minton shared the spotlight in set 2. Feist showed off clever tips and Cassie Ellegood and Behr led the way in set 3.
No. 9 ranked 5A Great Bend (13-2, 5-0 WAC) stayed unbeaten in league round-robin play by barely holding off pesky Dodge City. The Panthers maintain a top four West 5A seed heading to Saturday's Great Bend volleyball tournament.
"That was a lot of fun," Ellegood said. "This feels good to be 5-0 in WAC after graduating six seniors. Dodge City has strong girls and plays their best volleyball against us. Dodge City is good at picking their spots. They had a couple strong servers."
Dodge City (14-12) countered with quality play by the hard-hitting trio of Jocelyn Fernandez, Piper Mellinger and Lillian Trejo. Mix in quality serves by Aylin Sanchez and the Red Demons pushed the Panthers in all three sets.
"By far, that was Dodge City's best match. Every time we play Dodge City, they play their best volleyball," said Great Bend coach Shelly Duvall. "We fell apart with our passing a little bit that third set. But we passed better and kept our serves in the court to seal the deal."
Duvall said Behr's court presence and versatility makes the Panthers roll. Behr delivers quick winners to keep the defense guessing.
'The connection between Kya and Cassie is extremely good," Duvall said. "Kya does a great job getting the volleyball where it needs to go. We know Cassie and Kara Feist are going to put the ball to the wood when they get their chance. Kara is a lefthander who has a nice advantage with her vertical jump. Our two freshmen Micah Ellegood and Mikala Minton are playing great."
Duvall likes the team's balance with freshmen, sophomores, juniors and senior contributing.
"We make sure everyone gets quality reps so they're ready to help," Duvall said. "We're young, but we've got great leadership."
5A WEST REGIONALS (4 regionals)—Topeka Seaman 23-1; Andover High 15-2; Andover Central 19-3; Great Bend 13-2; Wichita Kapaun-Mt. Carmel 20-4; Wichita Carroll 17-5; Hays High 14-6; Emporia 14-7; Goddard Eisenhower 15-8; Maize South 15-10; Salina South 15-10; Valley Center 12-9; Arkansas City 13-10; Hutchinson High 9-10; Goddard 7-14; Topeka West 5-16; Salina Central 4-15; Newton 5-19
