By CAYDEN SANDERS
Tiger Media Network
On Saturday, the Hays High School volleyball team hosted its Maroon and Gold tournament. The Indians welcomed seven different teams from five different classifications.
For the fifth-place match, Hays High and Thomas More Prep-Marian competed for the consolation championship. Hays High beat TMP in two sets, claiming a fifth-place finish in the new high school.
“Yeah, I was happy the way we ended the day, for sure, and I liked our development throughout the day,” said HHS head coach Shannon Funk. “It’s not how I expected to start. I expected to be in the gold bracket. We expect that from our girls every time. But again, very proud of my girls, and I think we finished the day strong.”
Ultimately, Bishop Carroll won 2-0 over Lawrence-Free State in the championship. Olathe North defeated Gardner-Edgerton 2-0 in the third-place match.
For the seventh-place match, Clearwater defeated Scott City, 2-1.
Coming into the tournament were Class 6A schools Gardner-Edgerton, Lawrence-Free State and Olathe North. Bishop Carroll and Hays represented 5A. Clearwater and Scott City both are 4A, and TMP is 2A.
The Indian Pool group consisted of Hays, Free State, Olathe North and Scott City. Hays High lost to Free State and Olathe North while defeating Scott City.
The championship side was Bishop Carroll, Gardner-Edgerton, Free State and Olathe North. The concolation bracket was Clearwater, Hays, Scott City and TMP.
TMP head coach Megan Gottschalk believed her team played well for being young and the smallest school in the tournament.
“I’m really happy with how they played. We practiced really well all this week,” she said. “So I really knew that we would come ready to compete. We only have two returners this year, so everybody, all the rest of the seven, were getting their very first varsity game today.
“They all did play really well. So I’m happy with how we started. I just told them you played against much bigger schools than we’re going to see the rest of the season. So we’re going to go up from here.”
For Gottschalk, she sees room for improvement for her two returners from last season’s squad.
“I’m excited to see my two returners step up as leaders. … I’m excited to see what they can accomplish,” she said.
TMP finished the tournament with a 2-3 record. The Monarchs’ season continues Tuesday against Mid-Continent League foe Norton, as the Bluejays travel to Al Billinger Fieldhouse.
Family ties
For Hays High, its coaching staff is a lot closer than most. Funk and assistant coach Natausha Hoffman — once a head coach at TMP — are now together as coaches at Hays High.
“It’s great to get to have that balance with my sister and get to be able to help her,” Hoffman said. “I love just getting to see her be successful and know that I can help her, do anything that she wants done to make her program better.”
The last time the sisters coached a Hays High vs. TMP match was the fall of 2021, where Hoffman and the Monarchs bested the Indians 2-1 in the Maroon and Gold tournament. This time, Hays High defeated the Monarchs 2-0.
“It’s incredible. She and I are best friends,” Funk said. “It’s incredible to have her on staff. We think the same way, but we explain things very differently. It really benefits the girls because they get to hear two different angles of the same perspective, and it’s just been incredible.
“I trust her implicitly. When she says, ‘Hey, let’s do this,’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ I don’t even have to question or think, ‘Is that right?’ I like how this team’s got two head coaches, and it’s working well.”
Hoffman spent 11 years (2010 to 2021) with the Monarchs, collecting a record of 272-142. She helped TMP reach the Class 3A state tournament in 2014, the first appearance since 1985. In 2017, the Monarchs became 3A state champions, and Hoffman was named 3A Coach of the Year.
“While I really appreciate all of my time and everything while I was at TMP, there’s nothing more special than getting to coach with my sister,” Hoffman said. “So to me, there wasn’t any emotion; it was good competition, with a good cross-town rival. It’s always fun to do that, you know, and everybody gets to play in a new gym. But nothing is more special than getting to be on the bench with my sister.”
Hays High is right back in action Tuesday.
“On Tuesday, we will host Nickerson, Smoky Valley, and then we will go on to play at Dodge City on Thursday,” Funk said. “Nickerson has got a new coach. She’s a great coach. So I’m really looking forward to seeing how their team has developed. Smoky Valley is always a powerhouse, so I like playing this triangular. It’s fun that we get to host again this year. So I’m looking forward to it.”
This story was written as part of INF 322: Sports Writing, a course in the Department of Informatics at Fort Hays State University.