The heavy hitters Emporia High had to deal with in its home volleyball tournament on Saturday made a 2-4 record and a fourth-place finish just fine with coach Betsy Martling.
The Spartans went 2-2 in pool play to advance to the championship bracket, then dropped matches against two of the state’s highest-ranked Class 6A teams, Blue Valley West and Washburn Rural, for the fourth-place finish.
“Honestly, to make it to the gold bracket was a really big deal,” Martling said, “when you consider that Blue Valley West was ranked at state, Topeka-Seaman was ranked at state, Washburn Rural is ranked at state. ... This is one of the toughest tournaments, and not just for us, but for everybody. This is a preview of what 4A, 5A and 6A state are going to look like.”
Blue Valley West sat just outside the Class 6A top five, but the Spartans looked to be competitive once they made the championship bracket, taking down West in the first game, 25-23. Lauren Longbine provided three kills among the last four points for EHS. In the second game, West ripped off nine unanswered points en route to an easy 25-8 win. The third game was only slightly more competitive, as West ran off five unanswered points to turn a 15-10 lead into a 20-10 deficit, eventually winning 25-14 to advance to the championship match.
Emporia then moved to the fourth-place game against Washburn Rural, where it fell by two 25-14 scores. Meanwhile, Blue Valley West defeated Seaman in three games in the championship match.
“I think they played pretty well,” Martling said. “(Libero) Amber Miller just had a phenomenal game that last game out there. She was all over the court.”
In pool play earlier in the all-day tourney, the Spartans began with an easy win over Free State, 25-15, 25-14, before taking Seaman, the fourth-ranked team in Class 5A, to three games. The Spartans won the first game 25-22 before losing the next two 16-25, 13-25.
EHS then faced Maize in Martling’s first meeting against her alma mater, losing 23-25, 25-17, 14-25. A two-game victory over Junction City by 25-17, 25-16 scores to conclude pool play lifted Emporia into the championship bracket.
“Overall, I think we played our best games ever,” senior Ashley Leihsing said. “Especially against these ranked teams, we got it.”