By Fred Solis
Hutchinson Tribune
GODDARD—The defending 4A State Volleyball Champion Andale Indians started the 2026 season by scoring four victories over four 5A schools at Goddard Eisenhower last Saturday. The Indians knocked off Goddard Eisenhower, Andover, Newton and Valley Center in two sets apiece.
Andale warmed up against host Eisenhower with wins of 25-18 and 25-18. In set 1, the Indians jumped out to a 7-2 lead, prompting the Tigers to call a timeout. They continued to hammer away and built a 17-7 advantage, when Eisenhower took another timeout.
The Tigers outscored the Indians down the stretch 11-8, but it wasn’t enough to affect the outcome.
The second set followed the same pattern, with Andale taking an 11-6 lead before Eisenhower called a timeout. The Tigers responded again and cut the lead to five, 18-13, but resorted to another pause at 20-13 when they sensed the Indians were pulling away.
“We had a bit of a slow start at the jamboree,” Andale coach Scott Johnson said, referring to a preseason scrimmage earlier in the week.
“So the message this week in practice was: start fast. And we did that. We really started most of the sets quickly. And I think we had a huge advantage playing ahead, versus playing behind like we did at the jamboree,” he said.
In the second game, Andale took on foe Andover and notched wins of 25-18 and 25-11. The play at times was closer, with just four points separating them at one point.
But the Indians still held the upper hand and never trailed and used an 8-5 run to close out set 1.
While outside hitter senior Abbey McNeal set the tone with double-digit kills against Eisenhower, fellow middle hitter senior Reagan Winter joined the hit parade when she opened the Andover match with a kill and added several more during the contest.
McNeal ended the day with a team-high 41 kills, a hitting percentage of 0.314, four blocks and five aces.
The game against Newton looked like a train wreck about to happen early for the Indians in set 1, as the Railers’ defense neutralized Andale’s attack while their offense put them up 12-8, forcing the Indians to take their only timeout of the day.
Andale caught Newton to tie the game at 15, and the Railers signaled a timeout. The Indians then went on a 5-1 run, which resulted in another Newton timeout. The Railers stayed close, but late kills by senior Gentry Smith and sophomore Kinley Spexarth ensured a 25-22 Andale victory.
“We made some good plays against Newton, but their defense was very, very good,” Johnson said. “The libero was making some great plays on that side. We were hitting the ball hard, and they were returning it. So kudos to them.
“They really made us work there. And I think they were just extending the rallies until we made a mistake, which kept them in the game. I think the message middle of that set and going into set 2 is short rallies.
“We want first-ball kills. We don’t want to give them too many opportunities,” he said.
In set 2, the Indians returned to form and spurted out to an 11-6 lead, which eroded the Railers’ confidence from set 1 and led to a Newton timeout. Andale held Newton at arm’s length the rest of the way for a 25-16 win.
The Indians went to work early against the Hornets, going up 8-1 to open set 1, and stretched the lead to 15-2, compelling Valley Center to call timeouts. But it did little to curb the onslaught as Andale put down the Hornets 25-10.
Andale opened set 2 on a 9-3 run, before the Hornets went on a run, nearly matching the Indians point for point to close the gap. Andale then followed with a string of errors the Hornets took advantage of to pull within five, 20-15.
But the Indians came together to close out the set on a 5-2 run for a 25-17 win.
“I think we could see a little bit in that fourth match against Valley Center there where we were just getting a little bit tired and starting to put balls out of bounds,” Johnson said.
“I think that’s going to kind of be key for us. We’re 13 kids deep on the bench, and so we have the ability to get people some rest so that they’re not burnt out at the end of a tournament like this,” he said.
With a deep bench, Johnson was able to give Spexarth and other younger players experience and time on the floor.
“It’s incredibly important,” he said, noting that Spexarth made the jump from the freshman team to varsity. “She skipped JV altogether, and she’s progressed a ton over the past year. I think playing not only varsity but the level of play and the expectation of playing […] she’s having to rise up to that occasion rather quickly.
“She was great today,” he continued. “We treat her like everybody else at practice. The expectations are high for the team and her, and she’s meeting those expectations. She’s learning quickly.”
The Indians are next in action Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 5:30 p.m. at Buhler.