The Otis High School volleyball team has to win just one match, and on its homecourt no less, to advance to the Class 1A State Tournament.
Otis finished 11-3 in the regular season, including 5-0 in YWKC League play, and qualified for the 24-team Class 1A regional bracket as the 11th seed. The Bulldogs were supposed to travel south to Springfield for the 1A Region 6. However, Springfield had to pull out of regional thanks to COVID-19 issues.
The Bulldogs now will host 19th-seed Weldon Valley on Friday at 7 p.m., with the winner headed to the shortened, mid-week 1A State Tournament, May 12-13 at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs.
Otis closed out the regular season last week with four wins in four days.
It started with a 25-4, 25-4, 25-16 home win over Bethune on April 20. Becca Bleak had seven kills, Azariah Erickson five, Rowan Tribelhorn five, Kacy Perry three, Hailey Stivers three, and Jayce Perry two. Ali Hornung had 23 setting assists. Bleak was 19-21 serving with 11 aces, Anthoneya Schaffert 11-11 with four aces, Hornung 10-11 with one ace, Tribelhorn 9-9 with two aces, K. Perry 5-5 with one ace, and Arlene Bencomo 4-5 with one ace.
Otis kept it going with a 25-12, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23 win at Idalia last Wednesday. Bleak had 15 kills, Tribelhorn 12, and Erickson 11, while Hornung had 38 assists. Schaffert was 20-20 serving with six aces, Hornung 15-16 with one ace, Bleak 15-16, Stivers 12-13, Erickson 11-11 with two aces, Tribelhorn 11-13, and J. Perry 7-7 with one ace.
Next up was an exciting five-set win at regional-bound Kit Carson last Thursday, 16-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20 and 15-11. Bleak recorded 29 kills, Tribelhorn 11, and Erickson nine. Hornung had 47 assists. Bleak was 20-20 serving with two aces, Schaffert 18-19 with one ace, Hornung 18-19 with one ace, Erickson 17-18 with one ace, Tribelhorn 12-12, Stivers 10-10 with one ace, and J. Perry 3-3 with one ace.
The Bulldogs then closed out the regular season last Friday with a 25-17, 25-9, 25-15 home win over Hi-Plains. Bleak was 15-16 serving with two aces, Hornung 14-14, Schaffert 13-13 with three aces, Erickson 11-11 with two aces, Tribelhorn 10-12 with one ace, and Stivers 7-7 with two aces.
