The Central Heights volleyball team ended the season with its best performance Saturday in the 3A sub-state in Fredonia.

The seventh-seeded Vikings upset No. 2 seed Jayhawk-Linn (25-21, 23-25, 25-23) in the first round. The Vikings then bowed out with a straight sets loss to Wellsville (25-13, 25-18) in the semifinals.

The Central Heights volleyball team ended the season with its best performance Saturday in the 3A sub-state in Fredonia.

The seventh-seeded Vikings upset No. 2 seed Jayhawk-Linn (25-21, 23-25, 25-23) in the first round. The Vikings then bowed out with a straight sets loss to Wellsville (25-13, 25-18) in the semifinals.

Central Heights coach Ann Bowen said all the facets meshed against Mission Valley.

“This was easily the best match we have played all year from beginning to end,” Bowen said. “We were doing all the things we had worked on all season. I felt like everything had come together.

“Alexis Dryden and Kenzie Hayward played well at the net. Whitney Kraus was digging every ball in the back row. I thought Emily Millers jump served looked great. It was definitely a team effort. It was such an exciting match and I am so proud of the way the girls played. They deserved the win.”

The Vikings lost a bit of momentum with the break between matches.

“We had a long break between our matches which I don’t think helped our cause,” Bowen said. “We just didn’t have the enthusiasm and energy that we needed if we were going to beat Wellsville. It feels better knowing that Wellsville was the eventual winner of sub-state.  

“Wellsville is a good team and we didn’t have the intensity to compete. Although I don’t want to focus on that particular match, but more so on the effort of the girls. We could have gone in feeling like we were seventh and it wasn’t worth the fight, but they gave their all and I couldn’t ask for more.”

Stats

Jayhawk-Linn

Brianna Erhart: 11 assists, 2 aces, 3 kills.

Sydney Meyer: 2 kills, 2 blocks.

Kenzie Hayward: 10 kills, 6 blocks, 7 digs.

Alexis Dryden: 7 kills, 4 blocks (1 stuff).

Lexi Griffin: 5 digs.

Whitney Kraus: 1 ace, 9 digs.

Emily Miller: 4 digs.

Shannon Goldring: 3 kills, 1 block.

Tami Schaefer: 5 assists.

Wellsville

Brianna Erhart: 3 assists, 1 kill.

Sydney Meyer: 1 block.

Kenzie Hayward: 3 kills, 1 block, 2 digs.

Alexis Dryden: 2 kills, 1 block.

Lexi Griffin: 2 digs.

Whitney Kraus: 6 digs, 1 kill.

Emily Miller: 2 digs.

Shannon Goldring: 2 kills, 1 block.

Tami Schaefer: 2 assists.