The Humboldt Lady Cubs will vie for a volleyball state championship Friday morning, the first time in nearly a decade.
Humboldt won the substate tournament Saturday, defeating the Southeast Lady Lancers 25-9, 25-7, then outlasting Bluestem in three sets — taking the first set 25-15, falling in the second 25-22 and winning the rubber match 25-18.
“I’m on cloud nine. I’m in complete disbelief we’ve made it so far,” Humboldt senior middle hitter Laney Hull said.
In the opener against Southeast (9-20), senior outside hitter Ricklyn Hillmon had a team-leading seven kills to inch the Lady Cubs closer to their first state tournament berth since 2016. Junior setter Lakyn Meadows, senior middle blocker Laney Hull and sophomore outside hitter Adalyn Hillmon tied for second with four kills each.
“We just wanted to win. I was ready and I knew we could do it,” Hillmon said.
Defensively, Hottenstein had a team-leading 12 digs to complement her team-leading six aces, but her biggest contribution Saturday may have been behind the serving line against Bluestem (17-16). In the first set against Bluestem, she orchestrated an offensive barrage while serving and finished the match with three aces.
“I felt on today. I was just ready to play and give it my all,” Hottenstein said.
Bluestem won the second set, 25-22. Thanks to a standout performance by Hull in the third set, the Lady Cubs did not stay down for long.
While Hillmon had a team-leading 14 kills, Hull’s contributions came in key moments. A tip inched Humboldt closer to match point 23-17, then a block set up match point before an errant shot on the next exchange gave Humboldt the sub-state title.
“Since we had gone into the third set, I wanted to win, we wanted to go to state and end our high school careers on a good note. It was personal,” said Hull, who had 10 kills and a team-leading five aces.
Humboldt enters the tournament as the fourth seed.
The Lady Cubs first face fifth-seed Hillsboro (32-9) in the opening round of pool play at 10 a.m. at the United Wireless Arena in Dodge City. Next they face eighth-seed Rossville (22-13) at noon, then undefeated top-seed Ellinwood at 3 p.m.
Although facing some tough teams moving forward, Humboldt coach Terry Meadows remains confident in his team and he doesn’t plan to change much in their preparation. After all, he began seeing Humboldt’s potential just a few weeks into the regular season.
“It’s a good feeling. Bluestem battled back in the second set,” Meadows said.
“We hung with them. We weren’t going to let it slip away. After we started playing and stringing some wins together against some good teams. I thought we had a chance to go to state and it worked out.”
According to KSHSAA, Saturday’s bracket will be posted on www.ksshaa.org at the conclusion of pool play on Friday. Saturday’s action will begin at 1 p.m.
