The Great Bend High School volleyball team was swept in pool play during the GBHS volleyball invitational on Saturday at Panther Fieldhouse.
Though the Lady Panthers played in very close games throughout the invite, they were unable to finish on top.
GBHS head coach Kelsey Perry said that her team’s loss to Wichita Northwest, 25-22, 25-19, was one of the best matches she’s seen all season.
“We only had a few serve receive errors, our passers got the ball where Tarynn needed it and this led to kills,” Perry said. “We kept Northwest from being able to put balls away with great coverage and digs in this match. This is one of the best matches we have put together this season, and I wish we could have pulled it out with a won.”
The Lady Panthers, who were led by Liz Kutina with 20 kills on the day, started their matches against Ellsworth, losing 25-21, 25-21.
“We did not start the first match off well against Ellsworth,” Perry said. “We had moments where we put some short scoring bunches together but nothing that could make a dent in the match.
“Katelyn Henning led the team with 10 digs and got us out of a lot of trouble situation. She did exactly what a good libero does. She was all of the court saving many kill opportunities for Ellsworth and keeping the ball alive. We just couldn’t finish with kills on our side of the net.”
The Lady Panthers also fell to St. John, 25-19, 26-24.
Perry said that even though Great Bend didn’t beat St. John, they still executed the game plan well.
“St John has a couple players who are known to take over games and we feel we didn’t allow that to happen and that kept us in the match,” Perry said. “We have been searching for consistency and chemistry all season and we saw that today. We didn’t get the wins we need but we put good matches together against very good teams and that shows our girls they can compete with anybody.”

St. John finishes in third
St. John finished the day in third place after losing to Phillipsburg in the semifinal match 25-19, 25-14.
The Lady Tigers then beat Wichita Northwest 25-12, 25-23 to finish the day 5-1 overall.
“We didn’t play to well against Phillipsburg,” St. John head coach Trish Wade said. “We has some trouble gelling. We couldn’t pass the ball, but Phillipsburg had some awesome players. They played really well.”
St. John, which is ranked No. 1 in Class 1A Division-I in the latest Kansas Volleyball Association poll, is 23-2 on the season. 

Great Bend Volleyball Invitational
At Great Bend
Saturday
Great Bend results
St. John 2, Great Bend 0 (25-19, 26-24)
Tarynn Stueder — 1 Ace, 1 Kill, 6 Digs, 8 Assists; Rachel Harris — 2 Kills, 1 Digs; Brandi Schneider — 1 Kills, 3 Digs, 2 Aces; Liz Kutina — 5 Kills, 5 Blocks, 1 Ace; Kaylie Doll — 5 Digs; Kelsie Doll — 4 Digs, 2 Aces; Katleyn Henning — 10 Digs; Brenna Haines — 3 Kills, 2 Blocks, 1 Assist; Kelsey Crosby — 2 Blocks, 5 Assists; Bonny Boutlinghouse — 2 Kills, 3 Digs

Wichita Northwest 2, Great Bend 0 (25-22, 25-19)
Tarynn Stueder — 2 Assists, 1 Dig; Rachel Harris — 2 Digs; Brandi Schneider — 1 Ace, 1 Dig; Liz Kutina — 8 Kills, 2 Blocks, 1 Dig; Kaylie Doll — 4 Kills, 2 Blocks, 3 Digs; Kelsie Doll — 4 Kills, 2 Blocks, 6 Digs; Katelyn Henning — 1 Ace, 9 Digs; Brenna Haines — 3 Kills, 4 Blocks; Bonny Boultinghouse — 1 Kill, 1 Block, 5 Digs

Ellsworth 2, Great Bend 0 (25-21, 25-21)
Tarynn Stueder — 1 Kill, 1 Block, 1 Dig, 1 Ace; Liz Kutina — 7 Kills, 4 Blocks; Kaylie Doll — 2 Kills, 7 Digs, 1 Ace, 1 Block; Kelsie Doll — 3 Kills, 1 Dig, 1 Ace, 1 Block; Katelyn Henning — 13 Digs, 1 Ace; Brenna Haines — 7 Kills, 3 Blocks; Kelsey Crosby — 2 Aces, 1 Dig; Bonny Boultinghouse — 1 Kill, 1 Block

Other results
St. John 2, Wichita Northwest 0 (25-15, 25-19); St. John 2, Ellsworth 0 (25-22, 25-15); Phillipsburg 2, St. John 0 (25-19, 25-14); St John 2, Wichita Northwest 0 (25-12, 25-23); Phillipsburg 2, Hays 1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-15); Salina Central 2, Phillipsburg 1 (25-23, 20-25, 25-18); Salina Central 2, Pratt-Skyline 0 (25-14, 25-22); Hays 2, Pratt-Skyline 0 (26-24, 25-11); Salina Central 2, Wichita Northwest 0 (25 20, 25-15); Salina Central 2, Phillipsburg 0 (25-23, 25-23).