Great Bend High School seemed to break Russell’s spirit after beating the visitors in the first game of their match on Monday night during the GBHS triangular at Panther Fieldhouse.
Behind the front-row play of Liz Kutina and Brenna Haines, Great Bend crept back into the match late before pulling out a 27-25 victory in the final match of the night.
In the second game, Great Bend, behind the serving of Kelsie Doll and Liz Kutina, took control of it early, rolling to a 25-13 win to sweep the match and finish 2-0 on the night.
“Liz Kutina had a huge kill (for a 23-21 lead during the first game) and that gave us some momentum,” Great Bend head coach Kelsey Perry said. “We have struggled with building points in rallies and to do that and finish the game was big.
“That momentum carried us in the second game.”
Earlier in the night, Smoky Valley (Lindsborg) squeezed out a pair of narrow wins to capture the match, 26-24, 25-22.
“We played very aggressive in the first game and had a huge comeback,” Perry said. “We were down by seven or eight points to Smoky Valley and we came back against them. They were 9-2 (coming into Monday’s matches). We struggled in a few sequences and just couldn’t transition and hit and that was the thing that lost it for us.”
Kutina, a 5-foot-11 middle blocker, was dominant at the net and with her serving. She had seven kills in each match to finish with 14 on the night, coupled with three aces, including two in the second match.
“Liz is a completely different player than she was last year,” Perry said. “All she worked on all summer was hitting, blocking and everything.
“It’s very good for our program, obviously. With her and (5-4 senior libero) Katelyn Henning together and Tarynn Steuder stepping in as a huge sophomore setter, it’s a very good thing. We played very smart at the net and Tarynn set the ball as smart as she’s set the ball all year.”
Kutina served for six straight points after 5-3 sophomore outside hitter Kelsie Doll served for seven straight, including four aces, to help make quick work of Russell in game two.
Kaylie Doll, a 5-4 sophomore outside hitter, the identical twin of Kelsie, had seven attacks on the night, including five in the match against Smoky Valley.
Haines, a 5-10 sophomore middle blocker, had six kills, including four against Russell, and Tarynn Steuder, a 5-9 sophomore setter, had four aces and four attacks during the two matches.
GBHS returns to the floor on Thursday, when it takes part in the Rose Hill quadrangular. Other opponents include Garden Plain and Cheney.
Great Bend’s junior varsity, coming off a tournament championship at Scott City over the weekend, went 2-0 on the night, beating Smoky Valley, 25-20, 28-26, and Russell, 25-12, 25-13.
The JV team improved its record to 9-2 on the season. The next scheduled match is Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Salina Central JV tournament.

Great Bend High School
Volleyball Triangular
Monday
At Panther Fieldhouse
Smoky Valley 2, Great Bend 0
(26-24, 25-22)
     Tarynn Stueder, 3 aces, 2 kills; Rachel Harris 2 kills; Liz Kutina 1 ace, 7 kills; Kelsey Doll 2 aces; Kaylie Doll 5 kills; Brenna Haines 2 kills; Bonnie Boultinghouse 2 kills; Kelsey Crosby 2 aces.

Great Bend 2, Russell 0
(25-23, 25-12)
     Stueder 1 ace, 2 kills; Harris 1 kill; Brandi Schneider 2 aces, 2 kills; Kutina 2 aces, 7 kills; Kaylie Doll 2 kills; Kelsie Doll 4 aces; Haines 4 kills.

GBHS JV results
Great Bend 2, Smoky Valley 0
(25-20, 28-26)
Great Bend 2, Russell 0
(25-12, 25-13)

GBHS JV results

Saturday, Sept. 10

GB  vs.  Colby

25          20

21          25

25          27

GB  vs.  Scott City

25          10

26          24

GB   vs.  Holcomb

25           21

20           25

25           21

GB   vs.  Ulysses

25          10

25           7

  Note: The GBHS JV lost to Colby, but beat Scott City and brought the Lady Panthers to a three-way tie. GBHS had the highest win percentage, so they went to the No. 1 bracket and won the rest to get first place.