By CAYDEN SANDERS
Tiger Media Network
On Tuesday night, the Hays High Indians Volleyball team welcomed Great Bend and Manhattan for a volleyball triangular. Manhattan entered 5-3, while Great Bend came in 6-3 on the season. Hays High’s only losses come from eastern Kansas 6A programs, and entered the evening with a 6-2 record. However, HHS lost both of its matches.
“It’s a tough night. We saw growth in the Manhattan game. We talked about areas that we needed to work hard on, and I saw that we did that in the Great Bend game. Being good teammates and connecting and working through the struggles of the ups and downs in a game. I felt like the girls did a good job at that,” HHS Head Coach Shannon Funk said. “In the Great Bend game, they played more level-headed, more feisty, more ready to go every ball. We just had too many errors tonight.”
Hays High senior Annie Humphrey laughs with junior Lynsi Kanak. 
Hays High junior Brooke Bieker serves the ball. In the Manhattan game, she had seven aces in a row. 
Hays High sophomore Sylvia Johnson sets the ball for the Indians. 
Hays High players Lynsi Kanak (Left), Zoe Winter (Middle), and Sylvia Johnson (Right) celebrate a point against Great Bend. 
Great Bend junior setter Kya Behr serves the ball against Hays High. 
Hays High junior outside hitter Brenna Fletcher and senior middle hitter Molly Buckles attempt to block Great Bend during the match. 
Manhattan Jelena Depusoir (right), Ansley Becket (Middle), Bailey Bush (Left) celebrate as the Indians go 2-0 against Great Bend and Hays. 
Manhattan junior Jelena Depusoir swings at the ball in a match against Great Bend. 
Manhattan junior middle blocker Madison Stanard attempts to serve the ball in a match against Great Bend. 
Manhattan junior setter Keeli Tepe sets the ball for the Indians’ offense in a match against the Great Bend Panthers. 
Manhattan junior outside hitter Bailey Busch flies as the ball is going back to the Great Bend side of the court. 
Great Bend sophomore outside hitter Mikala Minton attempts an attack against the Manhattan defense. 
Great Bend senior Kimmy Hofflinger passes a serve from Manhattan. 
Great Bend Head Coach Shelly Duvall watches the court during the first set against the Manhattan Indians. 
Great Bend duo Mikala Minton and Micah Ellegood block an attack from Manhattan. 
Great Bend junior setter Kya Behr sets the ball to the far side during a Panther rally against Manhattan. 
Great Bend sophomore middle blocker Micah Ellegood blocks the ball as Manhattan junior middle blocker Ansley Becket looks on. 
Hays High senior middle hitter Zoe Winter jumps in joy as Kanak scores a point for the Indians. 
Hays High junior middle hitter Lynsi Kanak attempts to block a hit from Manhattan. 
Hays High Head Coach Shannon Funk talks to her team during a timeout against Manhattan. 
Hays High outside hitter Brenna Fletcher attempts a kill against Manhattan. 
Hays High senior defensive specialist Cassidy Smith screams after earning a point for the Indians.
In the first match of the day, Hays High took on Manhattan. The Indians won the first set 28-26, but dropped sets two and three 25-18 and 25-17. HHS did manage seven straight service aces from junior setter Brooke Bieker in the first set. Funk praised Bieker for working through changes to her mechanics.
“Brooke’s one of those players where her potential is extraordinary, we always knew that, and we’ve been working hard to change her arm swing,” Funk said. “She’s an attacker this year, and she’s never done that before, and when we changed her arm swing and attacking, it messed with her serving a little bit last year.
“She’s a great server, and she’s been battling through just some growth through the season. It was really nice to see we actually stayed late after practice yesterday and worked with her, and it was good to see her apply what she learned in practice and just serve hard like that. The ball is coming off her hand at 47 miles an hour, so it’s hard to serve receive.”
In the final match of the day, rivals Hays High and Great Bend faced off in Western Athletic Conference action.
“I think the biggest thing is Hays High has always had a great program, and it’s that rivalry that you look at in the preseason, but the girls know each other so well at this point that every time we come and step on the court for either team, it’s a big win,” Great Bend Head Coach Shelly Duvall said. “Because of it being a WAC rivalry, and the way they compete is exactly what you want from start til the final point.”
Great Bend is the defending WAC Champion. The Panthers swept Hays 25-17 and 25-23.
“We’re working hard on the things that we’re not doing well,” Funk said. “The one thing I’m really excited about this team is we have athletic potential and potential for growth, and I know that they are growth-minded girls, and so we’re just going to keep working.”
Great Bend knew what they needed to prepare for a good Hays team. Duvall had positive things to say about the Indians’ roster.
“For Hays, we always know that Annie (Humphrey) is just a stud in the back row. She’s a fantastic libero. So we know that we basically have to try to keep the ball away from her as much as possible,” Duvall said. “Hitter-wise, they’re huge blockers, which we don’t see a lot of. So for us, it’s just a matter of getting around the block, tooling it, getting through it as much as possible, between their hitters in the front row and their size and Annie in the back row and Cassidy (Smith). You always know their defense is going to be pretty strong against you,” She said.
Funk knows her girls can compete and wants to see more in the big matchups.
“We’ve played four very good teams this season, and those are the four games that we’ve lost. I would like to see my girls come out on the other side,” she said. “We need to win these games, the games that are close, the games that go to three, the games that are within five to seven points. We need to start winning those and so we’re going back to the gym tomorrow.”
Hays High is back at home on Thursday, hosting Gadren City, Pratt and Ulysses.
Great Bend goes 1-1
In the second game between Manhattan and Great Bend, the Indians and Panthers needed three sets to decide a winner. Great Bend took set one 26-24; however, Manhattan won sets two and three 25-18 and 25-19.
Duvall, last season’s WAC Coach of the Year, said the team wants to build off last season’s successes with a stronger schedule.
“We bulked up our schedule a little bit this year. We had a great run last year, got to state and couldn’t quite handle the level of talent at state, because we didn’t really see that level of gains during the season,” Duvall said. ”So, this year, we’ve added some Washburn Rural and St. James Academy to our actual schedule to really make us better. Clay Center is top of 4A., They were an awesome team. It made us better, and I think coming off of that this weekend has helped us.”
Duvall feels that her Panthers are in good shape after the triangular
“I’ve been really impressed with our outside hitters. Mikala Minton, our little number six, stands at about 5’6, but just plays like she’s about 6’0 tall, and tonight was her night, for sure,” Duvall said. “When you have a setter like Kya Behr that can put the ball basically anywhere on the court, you know you have a good player. Our back row played really well in order to put us in position to be able to get the ball to our hitters in the front row.”
Great Bend is coming off back-to-back WAC titles. Prior to 2024, the Panthers had not won the WAC since 2001. Great Bend won 35 games last season, the first time that the Panthers won 30+ matches in a season since the 2001 season.
Great Bend is off until Tuesday, when they travel to Junction City to play Junction City and St. Xavier.