Colby Volleyball Battles Through Busy Stretch

The Colby High School volleyball team showed resilience during a busy stretch of competition, earning victories over Ulysses and Wheatland while continuing to develop a balanced attack.

Colby began the stretch with a four-set rematch at Scott City on Sept. 22. After defeating the Beavers in Liberal the previous Saturday, the Eagles again started strongly, taking the opening set 25-21.

Fia Tubbs delivered a kill and an ace during the closing run, while Kenley Moss and Bailey McCorkle also contributed important plays at the net. Scott City responded, however, winning the next three sets 25-18, 25-21 and 25-21.

Colby nearly regained control in the third set, rallying to tie the score at 18 before Scott City used a late run to pull away. The Eagles also erased a seven-point deficit in the fourth set and tied the score at 20 and 21, but the Beavers captured the final four points to secure the match.

Two days later, Colby split a pair of three-set matches at Ulysses.

The Eagles opened with a 25-18 set victory over Hugoton. Savannah Krohn, Joslyn Bartlett, Moss, Emily Flanagin, Harper Vaughn and Tatum Odell all contributed as Colby displayed a deep group of hitters and servers.

Hugoton answered with a 25-23 victory in the second set. Colby trailed 22-17 before rallying to tie the score at 23, but Hugoton scored the final two points. The Eagles mounted another comeback in the deciding set, overcoming an early 8-2 deficit to pull even at 20. Hugoton again finished strongly, winning 25-22 to take the match 2-1.

Colby bounced back against Ulysses with a convincing 25-13 opening-set win. Vaughn led an effective attack, while Bartlett recorded consecutive aces late in the set and Tubbs supplied the final kill.

Ulysses forced a deciding set by taking the second 25-23, despite a late Colby rally powered by several Tubbs kills. The Eagles responded with one of their strongest sets of the stretch, turning an early 3-0 deficit into a 25-15 victory. Vaughn mixed powerful attacks with well-placed tips, while Tubbs, McCorkle, Krohn and Moss helped Colby close out the 2-1 win.

At a later triangular in Goodland on the 29th, the Eagles swept Wheatland 25-23 and 25-20. Both sets required comebacks.

Tubbs delivered the final two kills in the opening set. In the second, Colby rallied from a 16-10 deficit, tied the score at 16 and then broke a 20-20 tie by scoring the final five points. McCorkle ended the match with a kill.

Colby finished the triangular with a two-set loss to Goodland, 25-16 and 25-19. The Eagles led by as many as four points in the second set and held a 17-15 advantage before Goodland closed with a decisive run.

Throughout the stretch, Colby showed the ability to score from several positions. Tubbs emerged as a consistent attacking threat, Vaughn displayed both power and touch, and Moss, Krohn, McCorkle, Bartlett, Flanagin and Odell each supplied important plays.

The Eagles’ next step will be limiting service and attacking errors. If they can clean up those mistakes while maintaining their aggressive play at the net, Colby has the pieces to become an increasingly difficult opponent as the season progresses.

Next the Eagles will be traveling again to Goodland for a quad against Cimarron and Holcomb on October 1.