On Jam the Gym night at Panther Fieldhouse on Thursday evening, the Great Bend High School Lady Panthers came up with one of their top performances of the season in beating Hutchinson in a best-of-three match.
After falling to the Salt Hawks, 25-17, the Lady Panthers bounced back to win the match with 25-18 and 25-18 triumphs.
“We just started slow against Hutch,” GBHS head coach Kelsey Perry said of her team. “Sometimes it happens when you have to sit a match.”
Coupled with a 25-15, 25-12 shutdown of Goddard in an earlier match, Great Bend improved to 10-4 overall, coming back strong after losing three straight matches last week.
After taking a break and watching the Salt Hawks take care of Goddard, 25-19 and 25-23, they lost the opening match against Hutch and then ratcheted their play the remainder of the night.
The Lady Panthers used a balanced attack in the rubber game of the match, jumping out to a 6-3 lead at the outset and extending it to 12-5.
But Hutchinson rallied back to tie the match at 15.
That’s when Brenna Haines, the Lady Panthers’ senior middle hitter and college recuit, stepped to the forefront. She elevated for a pair of resounding attacks in giving GBHS a 17-15 lead, an advantage they never relinquished in taking command of the match.
“Throughout the lineup, we have people that can make plays,” Perry said. “We were very balanced.”

KANSAS VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION

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Class 5A

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