If the Great Bend High School Lady Panthers volleyball team doesn’t have a sense of urgency, that will come Saturday morning at the GBHS Fieldhouse.
Great Bend is the host to the five-team Western Athletic Conference tournament, and the Lady Panthers (7-20 overall) know the hourglass is dissolving as they embark on the two most important weekends of the season.
Great Bend will also host a Class 5A regional a week from Saturday.
“Every single game and match now is really critical for us,” Great Bend head coach Kelsey Perry said. “We’re looking at the No. 7 or No. 8 spot at regionals, no matter what, but just to get the seventh seed, we’ve got to win some this weekend.
“Hopefully, it will set in to our older kids that this is it for them, so that will give them some extra boost and you usually find that when you find seniors on the team that are in that situation.”
The senior-laden Lady Panthers feature outside hitter Emily Seiwert, setter Nicole Reiter, outside hitter Morgan Fletchall, outside hitter Jordan Haney, outside hitter Ashley Boeger, defensive specialist Jennifer Allende and back row player Kaitlee Spray, along with junior libero Katelyn Henning.
The Lady Panthers open pool play on Saturday at 10 a.m. against defending WAC champion Dodge City, followed by taking on Liberal at 11.
After a break over the noon hour, the Lady Panthers play Hays at 1 p.m. and Garden City at 2.
 “For us, not having a great record, we get to pick and choose who we play (being the host school), so that’s nice,” Perry said. “That’s just completely up to us.
“We’ve got to win a couple (matches) and hopefully, we’ll put ourselves in position to be successful when the day is over.”
The Lady Panthers are taking a “nothing to lose” attitude going into this weekend.
“That’s exactly what it is,” Perry said. “It has to be for our kids now. We don’t have anything to lose and being at home for both of the (upcoming) tournaments is a big deal.
“They would rather not be 7-20 at this point, but they’ve all been in this situation before. Everything that’s happened before now doesn’t matter.”
Last season at the WAC tournament, Great Bend took a 1-2 record into the Garden City match.
“We had a big upset of Garden City and that propelled us to the No. 2 spot at WAC, so anything can happen,” Perry said.

Frosh finish 20-7
The Lady Panthers’ freshman volleyball team finished their season with a bang.
The Lady Panthers, coached by Alyssa Kroeker, hit the 20-win plateau Tuesday night, knocking off Scott City, 25-20, 25-16; Ulysses, 25-19, 25-12; and Western Athletic Conference rival Dodge City, 25-20, 25-16.