MORAN — The Marmaton Valley High volleyball team celebrated senior night by splitting a pair of home matches against Marais des Cygnes Valley and Northeast at home Tuesday.
The senior Wildcats honored were Brooklyn Adams, Janae Granere and Payton Scharff.
“Janae, Payton and Brooklyn all developed strong friendships with their younger teammates and led by example,” head coach Megan Blythe said. “They were encouraging and uplifting to their teammates, often taking time to help a younger player improve in technique and inspiring their team to take risks and play competitively.”
The JV Wildcats came out on top in both their matches against Northeast and Marais des Cygnes Valley. The varsity Wildcats (12-23) finished the regular season winning six of their final 10 matches, including a win over Southern Coffey County.
Varsity
Marmaton Valley lost to Marais des Cygnes Valley in three sets, 21-25, 26-24 and 10-25.
Payton Scharff and Khiana Haynes led the Wildcats in the first set with a team-high five points each. Scharff and Kylah Sander both had a team-high six points in the second set before Scharff and Janae Granere each registered a team-high three points in the final set.
“Overall as a group, we’ve improved in keeping a positive mentality and encouraging teammates who get stuck in a rut,” said Blythe. “We’ve also worked hard on improving our serving percentage as a team.”
The Wildcats then beat Northeast in two sets, 25-23 and 25-14.
Scharff and Brooklyn Adams had a team-high five points in the first set before Haynes had a team-high nine points in the second.
JV
Marmaton Valley’s JV squad took down Marais des Cygnes Valley in two sets, 25-23 and 25-16.
Emma Michael went for a team-high 10 points in the first set, while she and Lesleigh Cary each had a team-high six points in the second set.
“The girls worked hard on keeping a positive mindset by turning outward, encouraging our teammates and adjusting our plays,” Blythe said. “Serving and passing also improved greatly as the season went on.”
The Wildcats JV team then beat Northeast in three sets, 25-13, 25-11 and 15-9.
Cary and Kaya Boone each had a team-high six points in the first set. Elizabeth Lewis then had a team-high three points in the second set before Lewis had a team-high five points in the third set.
Marmaton Valley hosts their Class 1A sub-state this Saturday, with Crest and Yates Center also taking the floor in Moran for a chance to book their tickets to the state tournament in Dodge City. With a 27-7 record, Crest holds the top seed in the six-team bracket and has a first-round bye. Marmaton Valley is seeded fifth and will encounter Oswego in the first round, while Yates Center, ranked third, will take on Madison/Hamilton.
See the bracket below, and find more sub-state information here. (Click on the blue box in the upper-right-hand corner to expand the image.)
