20 CLASS 2A VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH
 

EMILY BAINTER, HOXIE

Bainter helped fuel a potent Hoxie attack last year as the Indians made an impressive run to the 2A state title match before falling to back-to-back champion Hillsboro. Bainter was the Indians’ leader in kills by a big margin, finishing her junior season with 436, and averaging 5 per set. Bainter also recorded a team-high 351 digs and added 34 blocks for the Indians, who finished 36-6. She’s expected to play at outside hitter for the fourth straight season but also could play some at middle hitter with her dynamic blocking ability. Bainter earned first-team All-2A and All-Mid-Continent League honors last year. She is on track to break Hoxie’s career kill and aces record. In track and field, she holds the javelin school record with a throw of 136 feet, 8 inches. Bainter plans on playing at the next level.
 

EMMA BERNING, WICHITA COUNTY

Berning dished out 460 assists last season for the Indians, who finished 26-12. She added 126 digs and 68 kills in her junior campaign. She also had a 92.3 serving percentage with 41 aces. Berning was one of four first-team All-Hi Plains League picks for Wichita County. Fellow first-team HPL pick Ashlynn Ricke also returns for the Indians while key graduation losses include Sidney Biermann and Megan Ricke.
 

 
ADALINE BLOOMFIELD, MISSION VALLEY

A second-team All-Flint Hills League selection as a freshman, Bloomfield moved up to the first team each of the past two seasons as the Vikings’ top outside hitter. She’s coming off her best season yet, recording 263 kills last year as a junior. Bloomfield also added 41 aces and 309 digs and goes into her senior season needing only seven kills to get to 700 for her career. She’s already over 700 career digs with 767 and has 114 career aces as well.
 

EDEE BOATMAN, CEDAR VALE/DEXTER

An experienced senior setter is a luxury, and Cedar Vale/Dexter will have one if Boatman continues at the position. She enters her final campaign within reach of 1,000 career assists after earning All-South Central Border League first-team honors. Boatman registered 327 assists, 277 digs and 30 aces last season as Cedar Vale/Dexter finished 18-19 in its first year under coach Juli Young. For her career, Boatman has 656 assists, 538 digs and 69 aces.
 

LILY GRAY, STERLING
 
A loaded schedule limited Sterling to just nine victories last season, but the 6-foot-5 Gray has created matchup issues throughout her career for the Black Bears. Entering her fourth year as a starter, the senior middle hitter is coming off a season in which she registered 291 kills on .304 hitting with 68 blocks. The McPherson College commit has racked up 803 kills and 203 blocks in her career. Gray was an All-Heart of America League second-team pick in 2023 after receiving honorable mention her first two seasons.
 

SUTTYN HARRIS, INMAN
 
The talented Harris enters the back half of her high school career already committed to play collegiately at Utah after two production-packed seasons for the Teutons. Harris, a two-time All-Class 2A selection, led Inman to its second consecutive fourth-place finish in 2A, and recorded 411 kills to raise her career total to a school-record 1,095. The outside hitter/middle blocker added 86 aces, 65 blocks and 243 digs as Inman finished 37-7 after a 33-8 record her freshman year. Harris earned All-2A third-team honors in basketball last season and helped the Teutons win the 2A track title by medaling in the triple jump.
 

CALLIE HOLT, JAYHAWK LINN
 
Holt is a multi-sport athlete who has earned Three Rivers all-league first team honors in two of those sports, volleyball and softball. As a libero/setter for the Jayhawks, Holt helped led the team to a Three Rivers League championship last season, the program’s first league title in a decade. The Jayhawks went undefeated in league play. Holt returns for her senior season hoping to help lead this team to state after last year’s squad lost to St. Mary’s Colgan in the sub-state semifinals 23-25, 25-22, 23-25. Jayhawk-Linn finished the season with a 25-12 record.
 

 
CARLY HUTFLES, HORTON
 
A starter since her freshman year, Hutfles is coming off a big junior season that saw her record more kills than she had her first two years combined. She finished the season with 336 kills, giving her 643 in her career. She went from being an honorable mention All-Northeast Kansas League selection as a sophomore to a first-teamer as a junior. Hutfles, who has played middle hitter and been a defensive specialist in her first three years, will split time between middle and outside hitter this year while also taking over setting duties as well this season. She added 47 aces, 37 blocks and 191 digs last year and has 603 digs and 147 aces in her career.
 

 
LESLYN KREMEIER, HERINGTON

Kremeier will man Herington’s starting libero position for the fourth straight season this year. A three-time first-team All-Wheat State League selection, the 5-foot-5 senior already is holds Herington’s single-season and career digs record. She recorded 845 digs as a sophomore to set the school single-season mark and then added 737 last year. She went over 2,000 career digs last season and goes into her senior season with 2,070. Kremeier also got involved in the offense some last year, recording 46 kills and 48 aces.
 

 
BELA MAJOR, PLEASANT RIDGE
 
An outside hitter and defensive specialist for the Rams, Major enters her fourth year as a starter and has been named first-team All-Northeast Kansas League the past two falls. Last year, she recorded 203 kills and 328 digs while also picking up 25 aces. Major went over 500 career kills and 750 career digs last year and goes into her senior season with 535 kills and 766 digs, closing in on 1,000 career digs. She also has 78 career aces.
 

DALANIE MEEK, ST. MARY'S COLGAN

After recording 90 kills over her first two years, Meek had a breakout year as a junior last season. She racked up 197 kills over 106 sets played and held a kill percentage of 30.1. Meek also improved her total blocks from 2022 by 16 with her 47 last year while more than doubling her solo blocks with 14. She earned 444 digs, pushing her career total to 968. One of her few stats to decrease from the previous season was aces, but her 29 from a season ago still gave the Panthers a solid boost. Colgan went 29-11 as the Panthers earned their seventh straight state trip, 12th overall under head coach Cathy Oplotnik. With the graduation of MH Lauren Flood and libero Ava Wilson, Meek will lead a star-studded group of seniors looking to keep that long streak going. 
 

KYNDAL MOORE, ELLINWOOD

Moore delivered a strong sophomore season, leading a 30-8 Ellinwood squad with 264 kills last season. She finished with a .239 hitting percentage and also produced a team-high 51 blocks and 50 aces. Moore will play as a middle hitter and also set in a 6-2 system last season and through the summer. Ellinwood coach Greg Maxwell said Moore’s biggest impact is her presence in the front row as an attacker and blocker. She earned honorable mention All-2A honors and was a first-team All-Central Prairie League pick. The Eagles should be poised for another big season, returning two first-team all-league picks in Moore and Kennedy Behnke. Behnke is also primed for a big season after missing a good chunk of last season with an abdominal tear.
 

KINGZLEY RATZLAFF, HILLSBORO
 
It will be hard for Hillsboro not to miss its talented tandem of two-time Class 2A player of the year Zaylee Werth and all-stater Savannah Shahan. But returnees like Ratzlaff help keep the Trojans’ future bright. A junior and two-year starter, Ratzlaff gives coach Sandy Arnold a versatile option moving forward as a player who can hit from any front-row spot and one with experience as a setter. Ratzlaff finished Hillsboro’s second consecutive title season with 45 aces, 143 killls, 49 block assists, 2 solo blocks, 540 assists and 224 digs. She earned All-Central Kansas League second-team honors and All-2A honorable mention.
 

ADDY RILEY, SYRACUSE

Riley emerged as one of the top players in the Hi-Plains League last year. The 6-foot-2 hitter posted 117 kills and 144 digs for the Bulldogs as a junior. She added 23 aces and 23 blocks. Riley was a first-team all-league selection. Syracuse returns its top two players in Riley and second-team All-HPL pick Kimber Thomeczek.
 

KALYN SAMPSON, SEDGWICK

Sampson and her teammates will carry on the Cardinals’ mission of trying to break through the postseason ceiling and earn the program’s first state tournament berth since 2005. A two-year starter at setter, Sampson had 621 assists last season as Sedgwick finished 37-2 for its seventh consecutive 30-win season, but fell to eventual champion Hillsboro in the sub-state finals. Sampson has recorded 1,402 career assists, 134 aces, 227 kills and 103 blocks as the Cardinals have won 75 of 78 matches. She earned All-Heart of America first team and All-2A honorable mention last season.
 

TATE SHER, MARANATHA

Maranatha has reached state twice in the last three years. A big reason for that has been the play Sher, a do-everything outsider hitter. Sher finished second on her team in four major stat categories: kills with 268, aces with 69, digs with 315 and serves received with 380. If she can replicate her mark in aces, which was actually her lowest yearly total over her first three years of high school, it would push her well ahead of 2017 grad Mallory Borgan for the program’s all-time record in that category. After reaching more than 300 digs for the second time in her career, she sits just 253 digs away from crossing the 1,000 mark in that category this season. Maranatha graduated multiple core pieces from last year’s squad, but with Sher returning for her senior year alongside sophomore Maggie Brisk, the Eagles will have a shot to return to state and try to reach the state semifinals for the first time.
 

 
AVA SMITH, VALLEY HEIGHTS

Smith stepped into a starting outside hitter spot as a freshman in 2022 and had an immediate impact for the Mustangs, recording nearly 300 kills. Last year, she was even better, knocking out 366 kills while also adding 42 blocks, 264 digs and 35 aces. Smith is up to 662 career kills and is four blocks shy of 100 as well. She also went over 500 career digs last year and has 527. Smith is a two-time second-team All-Twin Valley League selection and also helped Valley Heights’ basketball team to a fourth-place finish at last year’s Class 2A state tournament.
 

CAMMI UNRUH, MOUNDRIDGE
 
Unruh is a versatile piece of the puzzle for new – well, not so new – coach Bryan Otte and the Wildcats. Otte, who led Moundridge to five state titles in 11 seasons in the late 1990s and early 2000s, is back for a second stint. Unruh is back after earning All-Heart of America League first-team honors while playing multiple positions. A probable setter and outside hitter for this year’s team, she had 294 assists last season and has racked up 401 career kills.
 

AMYAH WERTH, HILLSBORO
 
Werth handled libero duties as a freshman in 2023, helping Hillsboro win its second consecutive Class 2A championship. Her late-season performance landed her a spot on the all-state tournament team. An All-Class 2A second-team selection, Werth contributed 30 aces, 497 digs (4.9 per set), 74 assists and added 634 serve receptions. She was one of nine underclassmen on Hillsboro’s latest title-winning team.
 

 
MADELYN WILSON, CHASE COUNTY
 
Perhaps more noted as a basketball standout and state champion in track last spring when she won the Class 2A shot put title, Wilson can more than hold her own on the volleyball court as well. She was a first-team All-Flint Hills League selection last year, one vote shy of being a unanimous pick. That came after a sophomore season in which she racked up 383 kills and 76 blocks to lead the Bulldogs, setting a school record for kills. Wilson also added 37 aces and 135 digs. Wilson went over 600 career kills last year and sits at 626 through her first two seasons. She also holds the single-season blocks record with 100 her freshman year.