Don’t overlook these high school volleyball teams during the 2018 season

Although six Wichita area teams reached their state semifinals in 2017, some still seem to have the underdog tag.

Here are the biggest high school volleyball sleeper teams heading into the 2018 season.

Andover

The Trojans were one of the few teams to reach last year’s state tournament and not be named to the Kansas Volleyball Association’s (KVA) preseason top 10 in Class 5A.

Andover lost its top player in All-Metro hitter Isabelle Reynolds, but it seems the roster was backlogged with senior talent. With that, players like junior Maggie Creitz, senior Brynn Wilson and junior Korynn Haetten will look to get the Trojans back to state for the third time in four seasons.

Goddard

If this list were ranked, Goddard would likely top it.

The Lions finished fourth in 5A last year. They hadn’t reached the state tournament since before 2009. The program is building. Yes, Goddard has to replace talent like All-Metro pick Tarra Parks, but the Lions won in straight sets against Newton, Derby, Circle, Andover and Garden Plain last season.

Maize

The Eagles were down last season, losing to Andover in the sub-state championship.

It was a game Maize certainly could have won, and it kept the Eagles out of state. That should motivate a young group that has to take over from six seniors last season. Sophomore Mallorie Koehn and senior Brianna Aleen will be called upon to get the Eagles back to their winning form, reaching every state tournament from 2009-2015.

Maize South

Of the teams listed, the Mavericks are likely the least overlooked, but they still didn’t reach the state tournament last season.

Maize South finished 2017 21-18 and reached the sub-state final. The Mavericks have almost their entire roster coming back, including seniors Corinn Sokoll, Taea Kapels and Skylar Goering.