Kansas high school state volleyball: Former Shocker makes Wichita Northwest contender
The tears streamed down the face of Caiya Stucky, the senior who had just sealed the Wichita Northwest volleyball team’s spot in the Class 6A state tournament.
The unforgettable season continued on, as Northwest tacked on the latest accomplishment to the best season in program history. The running total now includes a 39-1 record, an undefeated City League championship and another trip to state.
So much has happened for Northwest to be able to reach this moment and the whirlwind of emotions had finally caught up to Stucky.
“There’s just so much emotion for me,” Stucky said. “It sounds so cliche, but we are the definition of a family. We’ve been through so much together. I know everybody says they’re a family, but not like us. We really, truly are and it shows with how we play.”
Stucky isn’t lying: Northwest regularly features two sets of sisters on the court at the same time in Caiya (setter-middle hitter) and Camdyn Stucky (sophomore setter-right side hitter) and junior twins Brailee (setter-right side hitter) and Daetyn Bogle (outside hitter).
Throw in junior libero Payton Benoit, junior outside hitter Grace Dickerson and junior middle hitter Alexandra Workman and you have a group of girls who have been playing together for years. That type of chemistry cannot be replicated by other teams.
“We don’t really have a weak spot on the floor,” Benoit said. “We all have been playing with each other for so long that we know where we’re going to be on the floor. We all have high expectations for each other, so we hold each other accountable. We care so much about volleyball and about each other, I think you can see how bad we want to get the job done.”
This same team went to the state tournament last season, but under much different circumstances. The Grizzlies weren’t considered much of a threat and were easily dispatched from the first day of state.
The respect has been earned this season after a 39-1 season that saw the Grizzlies take down a who’s who list of area powers with their lone loss to top-ranked and undefeated Washburn Rural. Northwest finished the season with a No. 5 ranking in Class 6A from the coaches.
Caiya Stucky, a Fort Hays State pledge, is one of the best, most-versatile players in the state and has been the team’s senior leader all season. Benoit can make a strong claim for being the best libero in the area, while Camdyn Stucky, the Bogle sisters, Dickerson and Workman give the Grizzlies a wealth of swinging options.
“I feel like we’re way more confident this year because we know we’re a real team,” Benoit said. “We’ve worked really hard to get to where we’re at. Everything we’ve done over the years, this past summer, the conditioning, the practices, it was all for this weekend. We know we have what it takes.”
Another difference this season has been the added confidence gained from playing for first-year coach Emily Hiebert, a former Wichita State volleyball star setter from 2013-17.
With so much talent returning, Northwest was always going to be a good team this season. But Hiebert’s knowledge, coaching style and credibility has elevated the Grizzlies from good to great.
“Hiebert is my third coach in four years and I’m so grateful that I ended with her,” Caiya Stucky said. “You respect any coach, but with her it’s different because she knows what it’s like to play at such a high level and she expects a lot out of us and practices are just different. We all respect her so much.”
“She actually used to be my dream player when I was little watching her play at Wichita State,” Benoit said. “I think some of the other girls feel that way too. She’s played so much volleyball and she’s so passionate with us out there on the court and in practice. You can tell she really cares and I think we all really look up to her and we want to make her proud.”
Hiebert, who has coached high-level club volleyball for Shockwave since graduating from WSU, said the transition to coaching at the high school level has been a bigger one than she imagined. But she hasn’t minded the extra work load with the results that have been coming in this season.
After playing on an undefeated conference championship team that became the first WSU team to host in the NCAA Tournament, Hiebert knows a thing or two about identifying a special kind of chemistry. She thinks the Grizzlies have it.
“Chemistry is everything in volleyball. It can make you or break you,” Hiebert said. “I was lucky when I played at Wichita State to always have a good group of girls and our chemistry was always very good, which helped us out. I see a lot of the same things with this team.
“I really do think this group believes they can play with anybody and beat anybody as long as we’re on our A game.”
Kansas high school state volleyball schedule
Class 6A (at Salina’s Tony’s Pizza Events Center)
Pool 1: Washburn Rural (38-0), Hutchinson (33-5), Shawnee Mission Northwest (31-8), Olathe Northwest (24-11).
Pool 2: Wichita Northwest (39-1), Blue Valley North (35-2), Blue Valley West (28-9), Lawrence Free State (24-9).
Friday’s schedule
3:30 pm—Hutchinson-SM Northwest, BV North-BV West; 4:30—Washburn Rural-Olathe Northwest, Wichita Northwest-Lawrence Free State; 5:30—Hutchinson-Olathe Northwest, BV North-Lawrence Free State; 6:30—Washburn Rural-SM Northwest, Wichita Northwest-BV West; 7:30—SM Northwest-Olathe Northwest, BV West-Lawrence Free State; 8:30—Washburn Rural-Hutchinson, Wichita Northwest-BV North.
Class 5A (at Salina’s Tony’s Pizza Events Center)
Pool 1: Lansing (33-1), Maize South (30-8), St. James Academy (27-9), Bishop Carroll (25-12).
Pool 2: St. Thomas Aquinas (34-3), Spring Hill (30-6), Emporia (26-9), Topeka Seaman (25-10).
Friday’s schedule
8:30 am—Maize South-St. James, Spring Hill-Emporia; 9:30—Lansing-Carroll, Aquinas-Topeka Seaman; 10:30—Maize South-Carroll, Spring Hill-Topeka Seaman; 11:30—Lansing-St. James, Aquinas-Emporia; 12:30 pm—St. James-Carroll, Emporia-Topeka Seaman; 1:30—Lansing-Maize South, Aquinas-Spring Hill.
Class 4A (at Hutchinson Sports Arena)
Pool 1: Andale (36-2), Circle (33-6), McPherson (33-6), Bishop Miege (14-23).
Pool 2: Labette County (37-3), Baldwin (28-4), Augusta (28-9), Ottawa (21-16).
Friday’s schedule
3:30 pm—Circle-McPherson, Baldwin-Augusta; 4:30—Andale-Miege, Labette County-Ottawa; 5:30—Circle-Miege, Baldwin-Ottawa; 6:30—Andale-McPherson, Labette County-Augusta; 7:30—McPherson-Miege, Augusta-Ottawa; 8:30—Andale-Circle, Labette County-Baldwin.
Class 3A (at Hutchinson Sports Arena)
Pool 1: Eureka (35-1), Riverton (38-3), Smoky Valley (37-3), Beloit (32-7).
Pool 2: Cheney (37-2), Heritage Christian (35-2), Goodland (37-3), Nemaha Central (36-6).
Friday’s schedule
8:30 am—Riverton-Smoky Valley, Heritage Christian-Goodland; 9:30—Eureka-Beloit, Cheney-Nemaha Central; 10:30—Riverton-Beloit, Heritage Christian-Nemaha Central; 11:30—Eureka-Smoky Valley, Cheney-Goodland; 12:30 pm—Smoky Valley-Beloit, Goodland-Nemaha Central; 1:30—Eureka-Riverton, Cheney-Heritage Christian.
Class 2A (at Dodge City’s United Wireless Arena)
Pool 1: Smith Center (38-2), Hillsboro (32-8), Wabaunsee (32-8), Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan (26-14).
Pool 2: Ellinwood (34-4), Jefferson County North (33-7), Garden Plain (30-9), Maranatha Academy (27-12).
Friday’s schedule
3:30 pm—Hillsboro-Wabaunsee, Jefferson County North-Garden Plain; 4:30—Smith Center-Colgan, Ellinwood-Maranatha; 5:30—Hillsboro-Colgan, Jefferson County North-Maranatha; 6:30—Smith Center-Wabaunsee, Ellinwood-Garden Plain; 7:30—Wabaunsee-Colgan, Garden Plain-Maranatha; 8:30—Smith Center-Hillsboro, Ellinwood-Jefferson County North.
Class 1A Division I (at Dodge City’s United Wireless Arena)
Pool 1: Pretty Prairie (38-4), Lakeside-Downs (31-5), Victoria (29-5), Rawlins County (16-18).
Pool 2: Little River (34-4), Centralia (35-5), Spearville (32-7), Burlingame (26-7).
Friday’s schedule
8:30 am—Downs-Victoria, Centralia-Spearville; 9:30—Pretty Prairie-Rawlins County, Little River-Burlingame; 10:30—Downs-Rawlins County, Centralia-Burlingame; 11:30—Pretty Prairie-Victoria, Little River-Spearville; 12:30 pm—VIctoria-Rawlins County, Spearville-Burlingame; 1:30—Pretty Prairie-Downs, Little River-Centralia.
Class 1A Division II (at Emporia’s White Auditorium)
Pool 1: Lebo (36-4), Wheatland-Grinnell (29-9), Hutchinson Central Christian (27-9), Bucklin (14-21).
Pool 2: Hanover (35-5), Central Plains (30-8), Dighton (26-9), Centre (17-17).
Friday’s schedule
10 am—Wheatland-Grinnell-Central Christian, Central Plains-Dighton; 11—Lebo-Bucklin, Hanover-Centre; 12 pm—Wheatland-Grinnell-Bucklin, Central Plains-Centre; 1—Lebo-Central Christian, Hanover-Dighton; 2—Central Christian-Bucklin, Dighton-Centre; 3—Lebo-Wheatland-Grinnell, Hanover-Central Plains.
This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 6:14 AM.
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