Andale volleyball comes up just short in quest for school’s first state championship
The climb up Mount Everest has been the theme this season for the Andale volleyball team.
The 29,029 feet it takes to climb Mount Everest was meant to represent the challenge of making it to the top, which for Andale, meant the potential of winning the first volleyball state championship in school history.
After losing in last season’s title match, Andale has been obsessed with “the last 29 feet” of the journey. It’s why they woke up for 6 a.m. workouts this summer, and it’s why they were so diligent in their work in practice this season.
Andale once again climbed the 29,000 feet to reach its second consecutive Kansas Class 4A title match, but it’s still trying to figure out the final 29 feet. This time it was Bishop Miege which delivered the heartbreaking defeat, by a 25-23, 25-15 score, in Friday’s 4A title match at Hutchinson Sports Arena.
“We talked about the last 29 feet all season long and that’s where we’ve fallen the last two years now,” Andale coach Kaylie Bergkamp said. “Even though we came up short, I will tell you I think they still got down the mountain. They’re here, in the state championship, during COVID and they battled and they grinded. They’re still No. 1 in my book. I’d argue with anybody they’re the hardest workers in Kansas, hands down.”
While their season ended in defeat, it concluded a remarkable career for Andale’s five seniors — Katelyn Fairchild, Brynna Becker, Ashton Winter, Megan McCormick and Samantha Marx. In their final three years together, that senior class qualified for state each season and came away with a fourth-place finish in 2018 and back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2019 and 2020.
“I would not trade these last few years for anything,” Fairchild said. “I wouldn’t trade this team for a state championship. It’s tough. Obviously we wanted to win the state championship, but this team, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”
Andale’s quest for the title was deflated when it lost a tight-knit battle in the first set against Miege in the title match. After falling behind by as many as four points, Andale rallied back and tied the set at 23-23. The Indians had a wave of momentum, and their fortune may have been different if they had found a way to win the opening set.
“We wanted to win so bad,” Fairchild said. “Every point, it was like we were screaming to the top of your lungs. It was like, ‘This is it, we can do this.’”
Instead, Miege won the next two points and took the first set 25-23. Andale still battled in the second set, but never threatened against a Miege team that featured too many potent hitters in Payton Verhulst, Ella Martin, Erin Garr and Leilani Elder.
When it wasn’t playing Miege, Andale was dominant on Friday. It easily dispatched AV-CTL rival McPherson, a 33-win club, twice — first in pool play (25-23, 25-15), then in the semifinals (25-17, 25-13) — and Ottawa (25-15, 25-18).
But Miege, which regularly played Class 6A and 5A competition during the regular season, proved to be too strong. After failing to qualify for state last season, the Stags (22-11) won their second title in the last three years and their 26th title in school history.
Andale hadn’t played a team all season that could control its potent outside hitters like Fairchild and her younger sister, McKenzie, a sophomore. But Miege’s block and depth of hitters proved too much for Andale to handle, as the Stags were constantly getting the better quality swings in the title match.
But the loss won’t be the thing that Bergkamp will remember about this group, which also had big contributions from underclassmen like juniors Jaley Eck and Annabeth Baalmann and sophomore Maddie Schrandt.
Andale finished with a 37-4 record and capped its most successful three-year stretch in program history with another state trophy.
“We graduated five seniors last year and look at where we’re at again,” Bergkamp said. “Our underclassmen know the expectations and those seniors were such great leaders. They encouraged and empowered everyone in the gym. They made everyone on the team a leader, not just them. We’re going to miss those girls so much.”
McPherson won one match on the day, a pool-play victory over Ottawa, but lost to Andale in the semifinals and then a rematch with Ottawa in the third-place match in three sets to settle for a fourth-place finish.
At the Class 2A tournament in Dodge City, Hillsboro came away with a fourth-place finish in its first trip to the semifinals since 2014. The Trojans beat Wabaunsee in pool play, but lost in the rematch in the third-place match in concluding a 28-7 season.
Hillsboro had its best season in six seasons thanks to a strong senior class featuring hitters Jessica Saunders, Teegan Werth and Tuesday Weisback, defensive specialist Dani Klein and setter Kinsey Kleiner. Junior Sammie Saunders and freshman Zaylee Werth were also top hitters, while sophomore Kori Arnold was the team’s top back-row defender.
Class 6A (at Salina)
Records: Olathe Northwest (27-0), Washburn Rural (32-4), BV West (22-7), Garden City (20-13).
10:45 a.m. — Washburn Rural def. Olathe Northwest, 2-1 (26-24, 14-25, 25-18); BV West def. Garden City, 2-0 (25-23, 25-17).
11:45 a.m. — BV West def. Olathe Northwest, 2-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-22); Washburn Rural def. Garden City, 2-0 (25-12, 25-12).
12:45 p.m. — Olathe Northwest def. Garden City, 2-0 (25-15, 25-16); BV West def. Washburn Rural, 2-0 (25-21, 25-18).
4 p.m. — No. 1 BV West def. No. 4 Garden City, 2-0 (25-9, 25-14); No. 3 Olathe Northwest def. No. 2 Washburn Rural, 2-1 (18-25, 25-11, 25-20).
6:15 p.m. — Championship: No. 1 BV West vs. No. 3 Olathe Northwest; Third place: No. 2 Washburn Rural vs. No. 4 Garden City.
Class 4A (at Hutchinson)
Records: Andale (34-2), McPherson (33-3), Ottawa (23-13), Bishop Miege (17-11).
10:45 a.m. — Andale def. McPherson, 2-0 (25-23, 25-15); Bishop Miege def. Ottawa, 2-0 (25-17, 25-19).
11:45 a.m. — Andale def. Ottawa, 2-0 (25-15, 25-18); Bishop Miege def. McPherson, 2-0 (25-18, 25-14).
12:45 p.m. — Bishop Miege def. Andale, 2-0 (25-18, 25-23); McPherson def. Ottawa, 2-1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-14).
3:30 p.m. — No. 1 Bishop Miege def. No. 4 Ottawa, 2-0 (25-21, 25-10); No. 2 Andale def. No. 3 McPherson, 2-0 (25-17, 25-13).
5 p.m. — Championship: No. 1 Bishop Miege def. No. 2 McPherson, 2-0 (25-23, 25-15); Third place: No. 4 Ottawa def. No. 3 McPherson, 2-1 (9-25, 25-12, 25-21).
Class 2A (at Dodge City)
Records: Hillsboro (27-3), Smith Center (33-6), Heritage Christian (25-8), Wabaunsee (27-10).
10:45 a.m. — Smith Center def. Hillsboro, 2-0 (25-18, 25-21); Heritage Christian def. Wabaunsee, 2-0 (25-20, 25-15).
11:45 a.m. — Heritage Christian def. Hillsboro, 2-0 (25-16, 25-21); Smith Center def. Wabaunsee, 2-0 (25-23, 25-8).
12:45 p.m. — Hillsboro def. Wabaunsee, 2-0 (25-18, 25-7); Heritage Christian def. with Smith Center, 2-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-21).
3:30 p.m. — Semifinals: No. 1 Heritage Christian def. No. 4 Wabaunsee, 2-0 (25-9, 25-11); No. 2 Smith Center def. No. 3 Hillsboro, 2-0 (25-22, 25-19).
5 p.m. — Championship: No. 1 Heritage Christian def. No. 2 Smith Center, 2-0 (25-21, 25-14); Third place: No. 4 Wabaunsee def. No. 3 Hillsboro, 2-0 (25-22, 25-23).
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 12:10 PM.
.jpg)