Washburn Rural wins state volleyball title

SALINA (KSNT) - Washburn Rural volleyball has completed its season on top, winning the 6A State Championship on Saturday.

The Junior Blues started the day with a dominate win in the semifinals over Mill Valley, 25-9, 25-18.

Rural took the court against Blue Valley for the championship game. The Junior Blues had already beaten the Tigers once in the regular season and once in tournament pool play.

The game was back-and-forth at the beginning, but a 5-0 run from Rural forced Blue Valley to call a timeout when the Junior Blues went up 16-13. The two teams went battled, and Rural sat with a 21-17 lead.

Kentucky commit Brooklyn DeLeye hammered home a spike for the 25th point and to give Rural a 1-0 set advantage.

The Junior Blues started out on top in the second set, forcing a timeout early after taking a 5-2 advantage. Blue Valley battled back and tied things up at 17-17.

The gym was loud at Tony's Pizza Events Center as the two volleyed, but Rural was looking at a 21-19 lead, just four points away from a state title. Up 24-23, Rural let the Tigers tie things up at 24-24, sending the set past the first-to-25 rule, as the teams must win by two points.

The Junior Blues scored the next two points, securing the team's state title, the eighth in program history. The final set score was 25-21, 26-24.

The win marked redemption for Rural after a fourth-place finish last season and a 2019 state title loss to Blue Valley. The Blue Jays finished the season 45-1.

Washburn Rural continues its tear of excellence in 6A girls sports, after the team won state basketball in 2021-22 and finished as runner ups in softball in 2022.