In the state tournament on Saturday, volleyball bounced back from a semifinal loss to eventual-champion Blue Valley West to defeat Olathe Northwest in three sets to earn the third place trophy.
On Friday, Oct. 31, the Jags entered the tournament as the number one seed and two-time defending state champions. They finished second in their pool, losing to Olathe West (27-25; 25-19) and defeating Lawrence Free State and Washburn Rural (25-20; 25-7 and 25-27; 25-18; 25-17) to advance to the team’s fourth consecutive trip to the 6A state final four.
On Saturday, Nov. 1, the Jags lost to Blue Valley West in straight sets (25-21; 25-15) in the semifinal, a rematch of the 2024 title game, losing their bid to win their third consecutive state title. The Jags won 6A state in 2023 and 2024 and finished fourth in 2022.
Regardless of how the Blue Valley West game ended, the Jags emotionally persevered, according to sophomore Sophia Sturdy.
“We have a strong student section, and their cheering helped us through, even though it wasn’t the outcome that we wanted,” Sturdy said.
The chants and exchanges between the opposing student sections were very loud, but head coach Kylie Corneliusen believes that ultimately the ending of the semifinal was decided by the gameplay alone.
“I don’t really think the outside had an effect on the game. [Blue Valley West] came out playing really well, and the difference was they didn’t make errors, and we did,” Corneliusen said.
Following this defeat, the Jags beat Olathe Northwest in three sets (25-22; 18-25; 26-24) in the consolation match, which included batting back from 13-18 in the third set to defeat the Ravens, 26-24, and win third place in the tournament.
Before the rebound win, Corneliusen describes coaching her players to focus on what they could control in the moment.
“The seniors would rather go out on a win than a loss, and in this moment, you can only control what game is being played. You want to finish on a win, because that’s the only thing that you can control right now,” Corneliusen said.
The Jags ended the season with a record of 33-6 and won the Sunflower League title. The Jags graduate seniors Leilah Perry, Ella Florez, Corinne Schwindt and Olivia Nzioki.
Florez is the only player to have been a varsity starter for the past four years. Corneliusen attributed her participation as one of the major factors of the team’s success in recent years.
“She’s a competitor and she’s a high level player. She did a lot for this program, and she was what I remember the most is she was consistent throughout all four years. She was reliable, she was consistent, and she’s a huge reason why we’ve been in this position for the last four years,” Corneliusen said.
While reflecting on her time playing for the team, Florez also had praise for Corneliusen and the coaching staff, complimenting their passion for the game.
“Something I remember the most about my coaches is how they were always into it, just as much as we were. They wanted us to win, just as bad as the team wanted to win,” Florez said.
