THS grabs second place at De Soto tournament
The last time the Tonganoxie High volleyball team placed second in a tournament, the Chieftains weren’t too pleased. After the weekend, THS has reason to be pleased with its second-place finish in the De Soto Spikefest.
Tonganoxie (20-9) went 5-1 on Saturday before losing in the finals to St. James Academy (Lenexa). St. James is currently the No. 1 ranked Class 4A team in the state, according to the Kansas Volleyball Association rankings. The Thunder are 33-0.
“There was a lot of good defense in that match,” THS co-coach Brandon Parker said. “In a match like that, there’s minimal room for error. We had a few service errors, and you can’t give away points to any team but especially to a team like that. They’ll capitalize on them.”
Tonganoxie lost, 25-20 and 25-22 in the finals.
It was the second year in a row Tonganoxie lost to St. James in the finals of the De Soto Spikefest.
Before the finals, Tonganoxie had defeated De Soto, Osawatomie, Jefferson North, Eudora and Kaw Valley League foe Basehor-Linwood.
The Chieftains are now 7-1 in their last eight matches. Tonganoxie swept its home triangular on Oct. 2 against Santa Fe Trail and Perry-Lecompton.
“I think the kids are on the verge of starting to play their best volleyball,” Parker said. “Day in and day out, we’re a lot different than where we were at the beginning of the season. Now it’s beginning to show.”
Parker said every THS player had a good tournament, but he was especially impressed with senior Liz Baska’s high level of play from her middle hitter position. Parker said he has seen Baska’s confidence rise lately and said she attacked the ball aggressively during the tournament.
Tonganoxie played host to a triangular match Tuesday against Basehor-Linwood and Piper, but the match continued past The Mirror’s deadline. THS will play host to another triangular Thursday against Santa Fe Trail and Baldwin.
Tonganoxie will close out the season Oct. 16 at Lawrence Free State before playing host to the sub-state tournament Oct. 20.
Kaw Valley League Volleyball final standings
1. Lansing (8-0)
2. Mill Valley (7-1)
3. Tonganoxie (6-2)
4. Basehor-Linwood (5-3)
5. Santa Fe (4-4)
6. Bishop Ward (3-5)
7. Piper (2-6)
8. Perry (1-7)
9. Bonner Springs (0-8)