By Fred Solis
The Hutchinson Tribune
ANDALE—There was no “oops” about it Saturday when the Andale Indians hammered their way to the substate volleyball championship again and set up a chance to repeat as 4A state champions.
The Indians took down El Dorado in two sets in their opener and then knocked off Buhler 2-0 in the title match. The victories followed Andale’s standard formula of dispatching opponents in just two sets this season.
Now the 32-5 Indians set their sights on the state tournament this week in Hutchinson, where they’ll vie to repeat as state champions.
“We didn’t have to do anything heroic today,” said Andale Coach Scott Johnson of the Indians’ substate performance. “We just needed to play our level of play, and we did that.
“I was very pleased to see them come out even stronger in set 2. I think we were better in set 2 than we were set 1 and really kind of dominated from start to finish,” he added.
In their opener against El Dorado, the Indians followed up their 25-11 victory in set 1 with a commanding 25-5 win in set 2. The Indians repeated the pattern in the championship game against Buhler as they put the Crusaders down 25-15 in the first set and 25-10 in the second.
The only test for the Indians came in the first set against Buhler when the Crusaders took advantage of Andale errors and rallied for five straight points to tie the score at 12.
But the Indians quickly returned to form with blistering kills from outside hitters Gentry Smith and Abbey McNeal and a service ace by libero Kate McHatton to pull away and close out the set on a 13-3 run.
“I think we just came out very confidently,” senior Abbey McNeal said. “I knew that this was our last chance. So might as well give it all you have and not be timid or shy with it and start off strong.”
Buhler, however, may have spent themselves a bit getting to the title match after battling through three sets against Rose Hill. Still, there was no denying that Saturday was the Indians’ day.
Kinley Spexarth and Paige Brand rotated in and complemented McNeal and Smith’s scoring with kills on the outside. Meanwhile, Reagan Winter and Megan Klabo took care of business in the middle. In the back row, McHatton, Addy Orth, Brooklyn Seely and twins Rylee and Ali Winter dug balls and set up kills for the Indians’ front line.
“I said at the very beginning of the year: consistency,” Johnson said. “And that’s easy to say, but we are getting more consistent. We are more consistently playing at a high level.
“Like I said, that was two complete sets. It’s just being consistent at that higher level that we expect,” he said.
That higher level is waiting for the Indians in Hutchinson beginning Thursday, Oct. 29, when the No. 2 seed Indians take on No. 7 Bishop Miege (27-8) in Pool B at 11 a.m. Andale then faces No. 6 McPherson (31-8) at 1 p.m. and wraps up the day against No. 3 Paola (31-5) at 3 p.m.
Pool A consists of No. 1 Clay Center (36-4), No. 4 Eudora (32-7), No. 5 Circle (31-7), and No. 8 Hayden (25-12).
Semi-finals and finals matches are slated for Saturday, Oct. 31, beginning at 9 a.m.
Returning to state is not only an opportunity to capture back-to-back state titles; it’s one more chance for the Indians’ 10 seniors to play together.
“We’ve been playing for four years, and then you get a whole other week to do it again, repeat last year,” said McNeal, who has rung up more than 1,000 career kills with the Indians. “We get to hang out and play together one more time. It means a lot to me.”
As the Indians return to the state tournament, they hope to channel the magic they played with last year, Johnson said.
“We were not afraid. We played loose,” he said. “We played up to our level, and this group kind of follows that trend. So as long as we just play like us, like our catchphrase, we should have a good run next week.”
