That never came to fruition, and the Chieftains had to watch bracket play from a spectator’s view.

Tonganoxie opened the tournament with a win against Bonner Springs, 25-15, 25-12, but then fell to Piper in two heartbreaking games, 29-27, 25-22. The Chieftains then beat Perry-Lecompton, 24-26, 25-14, 25-21.

Tonganoxie then played Manhattan in a rematch of last year’s Tonganoxie Invitational championship game.

The match went to three closely contested matches, but Manhattan eventually pulled out the victory, 26-24, 24-26, 25-22.

That left Tonganoxie at 2-2 in pool play heading into the final pool-play match against undefeated Ottawa.

The Chieftains held their own in the first game, but eventually lost the match in two games, 25-22, 25-12.

At 2-3, Tonganoxie finished in fourth place in pool play. The top three teams from each pool advanced to bracket play.

The Chieftains, who finished second during the last two Tonganoxie invitationals, failed to reach bracket play for the first time since 2001.

“I wouldn’t say this is our best showing,” THS co-coach Tiffany Parker said.

The Chieftains, though, did show signs of “what we can do and we will do,” Parker said.

Tonganoxie had two players competing Saturday despite recent injuries. Kalie Hileman injured her ankle at the Rossville Invitational on Sept. 17 and Ali Pistora injured her ankle during practice Sept. 19.

On Saturday, Tonganoxie had a total of 79 kills. The Chieftains had 20 kills against both Manhattan and Perry-Lecompton, 15 against Piper, 14 against Bonner Springs and 10 against Ottawa.

In the serving department, the Chieftains had 30 service errors and 26 aces. The team’s highest single-match ace total was against Bonner Springs with 12. The Chieftains committed their most service errors in one match against Piper with eight.

“When our passing and serving is on, we’ll do well,” Parker said.

THS fell to 8-8 on the season after Saturday’s tournament.

The Chieftains played Tuesday against Basehor-Linwood and Immaculata at home and will travel to Lansing on Tuesday to take on Mill Valley and Lansing

Tonganoxie Invitational

Red pool team records

Ottawa 5-0, Piper 4-1, Manhattan 3-2, Tonganoxie, 2-3, Perry-Lecompton, Bonner Springs 0-5.

Red pool results

Manhattan def. Perry-Lecompton, 25-21, 26-24; Ottawa def. Perry-Lecompton, 25-11, 25-10; Ottawa def. Manhattan, 25-15, 19-25, 25-21; Ottawa def. Bonner Springs, 25-6, 25-4; Ottawa def. Piper, 25-15, 23-25, 25-18; Ottawa def. Tonganoxie, 25-22, 25-12; Tonganoxie def. Bonner Springs, 25-15, 25-12; Piper def. Tonganoxie, 29-27, 25-22; Piper def. Perry-Lecompton, 25-14, 25-22; Tonganoxie def. Perry-Lecompton, 24-26, 25-14, 25-21; Manhattan def. Tonganoxie, 26-24, 24-26, 25-22; Perry-Lecompton def. Bonner Springs 25-18, 17-25, 25-18.

White pool team records

Eudora 5-0, Olathe East 4-1, Bishop Ward 3-2, Great Bend 2-3, Gardner-Edgerton 1-4, Basehor-Linwood 0-5.

White pool results

Eudora def. Olathe East, 25-16, 25-12; Eudora def. Ward, 25-15, 25-18; Eudora def. Basehor-Linwood, 25-8, 25-11; Eudora def. Gardner-Edgerton, 25-9, 25-22; Eudora def. Great Bend, 20-25, 25-16, 25-20.

Semifinals

Eudora def. Ward, 25-23, 25-9; Manhattan def. Ottawa, score unavailable.

Third place

Ward def. Ottawa, 27-25, 32-30.

Championship

Eudora def. Manhattan, 23-25, 25-18, 25-17.