‘Dreams do come true’: Halstead volleyball reaches state for first time in 33 years
When Dalaina Schutte was growing up, she had dreams of playing in the state tournament in high school on a volleyball team coached by her mother.
For decades, girls in Halstead had the same dream of going to state, but it wasn’t until this past weekend when the dream finally became a reality.
For the first time since 1991, the Halstead volleyball team qualified for the Kansas high school state tournament with Dalaina Schutte as the team’s senior setter and Diana Schutte, her mother, as the team’s coach.
“Watching her at the very end on the last point, I was thinking, ‘Wow, dreams do come true,’” Halstead coach Diana Schutte said. “That got me pretty choked up.”
It’s hard for high school athletes to wrap their minds around doing something no other team from your town has done in 33 years. To them, it was more meaningful because Halstead had lost in the sub-state championship game the last two seasons, while the same group of girls had also lost by one point in a sub-state final game last season during basketball season as well.
All of those close calls, that heartbreak and disappointment felt worth it this past Saturday when Halstead rolled past Hesston, a team that had handed the Dragons one of their two losses this season, in a sub-state championship game on Halstead’s home court.
“A lot of us have been playing rec sports together since we were in the fourth grade, so this is a really special group,” Halstead senior Dalaina Schutte said. “We’ve been so close the last few years, so to finally make it to state, it was just such a rewarding feeling. And then we have the best community support around us. Volleyball in Halstead is so much bigger than just us six on the court. It’s a community thing.”
There has been plenty to cheer for this season with Halstead (38-2) in the midst of one of the best seasons in school history. The Dragons have locked up the No. 1 seed in the Class 3A state tournament, which begins with pool play on Friday at Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Halstead has won 92% (77 of 84) of its sets played this season and defeated several ranked opponents, including Inman, the top-ranked team in Class 2A, and Little River, the two-time defending champions in Class 1A Division 1.
“All year we’ve been talking about wanting to get to state and now that we’re here, we just have to take it one game at a time,” said coach Diana Schutte, who won her 400th career game earlier this season. “We’re going through what that first day is going to look like, the starting lineups and trying to make them feel comfortable. Hopefully when we get to the gym, we won’t have those first-game jitters. We’ve beat some really good teams and played in some really big games this season.”
Halstead has been on the cusp of a breakthrough, winning 28 matches in 2022 and 33 matches last season — only to lose to teams in the sub-state final that would go on to reach the semifinals at state.
One key to Halstead’s success this season has been changing its offensive system to a 6-1, as Dalaina Schutte has thrived as the team’s lone setter with a season that includes 834 assists, 183 digs and 118 kills. Halstead doesn’t have much size in the middle and does most of its damage on the pins, as sophomore Bailey Bernal (408 kills, 229 digs) and junior Katharine Engel (329 kills, 259 digs) have both excelled this season. Other help has come from Jordy Schroeder, Annie Williams, Piper Schroeder, Daynica Euwer, Sloane Linton, Peyton Wendling, Tess Williams, Ainsley Farmer and Thea Boese.
“We have gotten faster and faster on offense and I think that fast-paced offense has really helped us,” coach Schutte said. “And then this group has really taken ownership of the team. There will be times where I’m like, ‘Dalaina, why are you setting out of the middle?’ And she’ll say, ‘Their block is so much bigger, so we’re going to make them move.’ They make their own decisions out there a lot and they’re all so bought into each other. It’s been a really easy year for me because they know the system and know what it takes.”
In coach Schutte’s mind, it wasn’t that long ago when these girls were coming to her summer camp as third-, fourth- and fifth-graders and aspiring to someday be high school standouts.
Now they’re the team that has brought Halstead back to the state tournament for the first time in more than three decades. There are plenty of sentimental thoughts this week, but Schutte said the Dragons aren’t satisfied yet.
“Gosh, it feels like not that long ago when they were the little ones and now they’re the leaders of the program,” coach Schutte said. “They’ve all bought into trying to get 1% better every day in practice. They have stuck to that and kept grinding and they’ve gotten better every single day. They just want what’s best for Dragon volleyball and hopefully that’s something special here at the end.”
Kansas high school volleyball state tournament schedule
Class 6A (at Tony’s Pizza Event Center in Salina)
Pool 1: No. 1 Blue Valley West (33-4), No. 4 Washburn Rural (30-6), No. 5 Wichita North (30-8), No. 8 Manhattan (20-15).
Pool 2: No. 2 Olathe West (31-4), No. 3 Mill Valley (32-5), No. 6 Blue Valley North (25-8), No. 7 Garden City (22-14).
Wichita North schedule: Washburn Rural, 8:30 a.m.; Blue Valley West, 11:30 a.m.; Manhattan, 12:30 p.m.
Class 5A (at Tony’s Pizza Event Center in Salina)
Pool 1: No. 1 Topeka Seaman (37-2), No. 4 Blue Valley Southwest (32-5), No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas (30-5), No. 8 De Soto (17-19).
Pool 2: No. 2 Great Bend (35-2), No. 3 Andover (31-4), No. 6 St. James Academy (28-6), No. 7 Kapaun Mt. Carmel (30-7).
Andover schedule: St. James, 3:30 p.m.; Kapaun, 5:30 p.m.; Great Bend, 8:30.
Kapaun schedule: Great Bend, 4:30 p.m.; Andover, 5:30 p.m.; St. James, 7:30 p.m.
Class 4A (at Hutchinson Sports Arena)
Pool 1: No. 1 Clay Center (36-3), No. 4 Topeka Hayden (29-10), No. 5 Holton (29-11), No. 8 Bishop Miege (18-18).
Pool 2: No. 2 Rock Creek (34-4), No. 3 Clearwater (33-4), No. 6 Concordia (23-14), No. 7 McPherson (24-15).
Clearwater schedule: Concordia, 8:30 a.m.; McPherson, 10:30 a.m.; Rock Creek, 1:30 p.m.
McPherson schedule: Rock Creek, 9:30 a.m.; Clearwater, 10:30 a.m.; Concordia, 12:30 p.m.
Class 3A (at Hutchinson Sports Arena)
Pool 1: No. 1 Halstead (38-2), No. 4 Beloit (37-4), No. 5 Nemaha Central (39-5), No. 8 Royal Valley (32-10).
Pool 2: No. 2 Neodesha (38-3), No. 3 Hoisington (37-4), No. 6 Girard (33-8), No. 7 Frontenac (33-9).
Halstead schedule: Royal Valley, 4:30 p.m.; Nemaha Central, 6:30 p.m.; Beloit, 8:30 p.m.
Class 2A (at United Wireless Arena in Dodge City)
Pool 1: No. 1 Inman (39-2), No. 4 Maranatha Christian Academy (37-6), No. 5 Oakley (30-9), No. 8 Wichita Central Christian Academy (23-17).
Pool 2: No. 2 Ellinwood (39-3), No. 3 Sedgwick (36-5), No. 6 Valley Heights (29-9), No. 7 Doniphan West (27-12).
Inman schedule: Wichita Central Christian, 9:30 a.m.; Oakley, 11:30 a.m.; Maranatha Christian, 1:30 p.m.
Sedgwick schedule: Valley Heights, 8:30 a.m.; Doniphan West, 10:30 a.m.; Ellinwood, 1:30 p.m.
Wichita Central Christian: Inman, 9:30 a.m.; Maranatha Christian, 10:30 a.m.; Oakley, 12:30 p.m.
Class 1A Division 1 (at United Wireless Arena in Dodge City)
Pool 1: No. 1 Flinthills (37-2), No. 4 Centralia (34-7), No. 5 Greeley County (28-9), No. 8 St. Francis (24-16).
Pool 2: No. 2 South Gray (35-6), No. 3 Little River (35-6), No. 6 St. John (29-13), No. 7 Clifton-Clyde (24-15).
Flinthills schedule: St. Francis, 4:30 p.m.; Greeley County, 6:30 p.m.; Centralia, 8:30 p.m.
Little River schedule: St. John, 3:30 p.m.; Clifton-Clyde, 5:30 p.m.; South Gray, 8:30 p.m.
Class 1A Division 2 (at White Auditorium in Emporia)
Pool 1: No. 1 Hanover (37-1), No. 4 Argonia (38-6), No. 5 Wheatland-Grinnell (31-9), No. 8 Linn (23-17).
Pool 2: No. 2 Lebo (39-3), No. 3 Ingalls (35-3), No. 6 Victoria (26-14), No. 7 Otis-Bison (25-14).
Argonia schedule: Wheatland-Grinnell, 10 a.m.; Linn, noon; Hanover, 3 p.m.
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