By CAYDEN SANDERS
Tiger Media Network
The Thomas More-Prep Marian High School volleyball team locked up the fourth seed in 2A West, enabling the Monarchs to host a regional on Monday.
TMP, who went 23-13 this season, including a 12-4 record in the MCL, did not know that they would be hosting a regional this season until Saturday. With the tournament games needing to be played at the same time, Hays High School hosted the regional for TMP.
“We were not expecting the four seed this year. We knew about a week or so in advance that we were sitting right around there and would probably host regionals this year. We did not know until Saturday,” TMP Head Coach Megan Gottschalk said. “We owe Chris Drees and Hays High a big thank you for allowing us to use their facility to host this regional. We also tried to make sure that we brought over what we needed, but we are fortunate that Hays High let us host here.”
The TMP Volleyball team high-fives starters before the match. 
Junior Bridget Feldt looks at the ball to serve during the match. 
Senior Nicole Schumacher blocks a hit from Ell-Saline at the net. 
The TMP student section watches the match. 
TMP sets the ball during the match against Ell-Saline. 
Brynn Rebel high fivers her coach during the match. 
Junior Raegan Allen serves the ball during a match. 
The TMP volleyball team celebrates its regional championship victory after earning the trophy. 
Head Coach Megan Gottschalk teaches her front line during a match after giving up a point. 
TMP celebrates a point. 
TMP wins their regional at Hays High. The sub-state tournament is on Saturday.
Joining the Monarchs were No. 5 Syracuse (19-12, 13-7 Hi-Plains), No. 12 Ell-Saline (13-20, 3-13 Heart of America), and No. 13 Plainville (13-17, 7-7 MCL).
TMP began the day by taking on Mid-Continent League foe Plainville. The Monarchs won the match 2-0 (25-22, 25-13). In their second match, the Monarchs won 2-0 (25-19, 25-16) against the Ell-Saline Cardinals. TMP had already claimed the regional championship by their final match against Syracuse. However, the Monarchs won 2-0 (25-12, 25-17) to leave no doubt
Gottschalk feels the tough schedule the team played this year prepared her team for the postseason.
“We have played against a lot of really difficult teams. I know our record does not show how good we have played this year, but I would rather see those difficult teams at the beginning and the middle of the season, because it shows us exactly what we need to work on as we move forward,” she said.
With the regional championship win, the Monarchs will be paired with top-seeded Medicine Lodge, Oakley and Johnson County when they begin sub-state play on Saturday in Pratt.
“I just want the girls to show up and play hard,” Gottschalk said. “If they show up and play hard like I know they can, I know that we can give anybody a run for their money in sub-state.
Plainville came into the regional as the No. 13 team in 2A West, and they lost to TMP in the first match of the day. However, the Cardinals went to work and won the final two matches of Monday’s regional.
“We’ve been preparing for this all season. We’ve been working a lot on our mental game as much as working on our skills,” Plainville Head Coach Jessica Billinger said. “I feel like the Mid-Continent league definitely prepared us for this regional.”
In the second game of the day, the Cardinals defeated Syracuse in three sets. Plainville won the second and third set 25-22 and 25-14 after dropping the first 25-13.
In the final match of the night, the Cardinals defeated Ell-Saline in straight sets (25-19, 25-22) to advance to the sub-state round.
“One thing that we personally have been working on is trusting each other, and just finishing games,” Billinger said. “That’s something that we struggled with in the past, and so it’s just something that we have finally developed at the end of the season.”
Plainville will face undefeated Ellinwood, MCL foe Smith Center, and Rawlins County in their sub-state on Saturday in Ellinwood.
Of the 16 teams left in 2A West, four are from the Mid-Continent League. TMP, Plainville, Smith Center, and Oakley.
“The MCL is a very difficult league to be in, and I thought Plainville has played better as of late, and I will definitely give them props because they have played a tough schedule,” Gottschalk said. “I saw that Smith Center won the Oakley regional and those two are also in our league. So it excites me that the MCL showed up and showed out today.”