BY BRETT MARSHALL
Great Bend's Valerie Luna led the way on the Western Athletic volleyball first team, joined by teammate Rylie Duvall, Liberal’s Lizzy Cisneros and Rylie Hallman, Hays High's Carly Lang and Garden City's Piper Harris.
Great Bend senior Valerie Luna was at a loss for words after coach, Shelly Duvall told her she was 2022 WAC Volleyball Player of the Year,
“I was shocked and grateful at the same time,” said the 5-71/2 middle blocker. “My senior year was pretty fun (the Panthers finished 19-15) and yet it had its ups and downs. How we ended the season made it a special time to be with my teammates. Those girls are special. I love them all.”
Luna would not be considered tall to play the middle blocker position at her 5-71/2 height. She compensates with an impressive vertical jump of 30 inches.
“Everything for me is about timing my jump for the potential block,” said Luna, who finished with 100 blocks, 37 solo. “You always have to have your eyes on the ball and once it leaves the setter’s hand, your timing has to be spot on.”
In the typical six-rotation lineup, Luna is in for just half of those, sitting out the times when she would be playing the back row.
“I serve in one rotation and then I’m in my middle blocker position,” Luna said. “I’ve had to work on my timing and being a better communicator on the court. We just say ‘ready, set’ for blocking.”
Luna finished the season with 196 kills in her limited court time, while delivering 63 digs on the defensive side. She served at a 92.5 percentage. Her 2.6 winners per set topped the team’s stats and her hitting percentage of .225 was also tops on the team.
Luna is undecided as to what her plans will be for possibly playing at the next level.
“I’ve had a couple of offers and I plan on going on some college visits,” Luna said. “I’m not quite sure yet what I want to do. I might have the chance to play either middle or outside hitter.”
Luna is interested in pursuing a degree in early childhood development, or perhaps a career in criminal justice.
“They’re not even close to the same, but those are areas that are of interest to me,” she said.
A three-year starter for Duvall, Luna said she has improved dramatically since her first year.
“My confidence level is 100 percent better than it was as a sophomore,” Luna said. “Then, it felt like I was just thrown in to a block party and now I’ve got my shoulders squared, my head up high and I know what I can do. I’ve become more open on the court with my teammates and started talking more and that has been a big area of my improvement.”
COACH OF YEAR
Liberal’s Katie Garcia earned the WAC Coach of the Year honor. The Redskins won the WAC postseason tournament for the first time since 2008. Liberal captured a 6A volleyball substate championship to qualify for the state tournament, Liberal (27-11) lost three matches at the state tournament.
“Just seeing their faces and getting that last point to win with all the pressure was so rewarding,” said Garcia, who just completed her second year at the program’s helm. “We had a great season and I couldn’t be happier for these girls who have invested so much into the program.”
When Garcia returned to home town, she became the junior varsity coach, then moved up to assistant varsity coach before taking the reins at the beginning of the 2021 season.
In her first 10 games on the bench, Garcia watched her team go 0-10. Then, things changed. They turned the season around and finished with a winning record and just missing out on a WAC title, losing out on a tiebreaker with Hays.
“The girls were so disappointed with that outcome,” Garcia said in recalling the 2021 season. “I think it made them come back and work just that much harder. They were not only hungry for it (WAC title), they were starving for it.”
The Lady Reds followed up their WAC championship with a sub-state title, again getting the job done on their home floor.
“It was so big to have both of those tournaments at home,” Garcia said. “Playing at home certainly had some pressure. During my high school days we had big success and to return and help bring back that winning atmosphere has made it all worthwhile.”
Luna’s veteran class of seniors began the rebuilding program as freshmen playing on the junior varsity and then as sophomores seeing varsity court time. It was in her first year that the turnaround really kicked into higher gear, she said.
“They took their lumps, but kept working every day and during the off-season and the summer,” Garcia said. “We went to three different volleyball camps to get an idea of where we were and what we needed to work on to get better.”
Early in the 2022 season, the Lady Reds were like a roller-coaster of sorts, finding themselves with a 9-7 record and having lost three matches at a tournament to Emporia, Valley Center and Wichita Carroll.
“We had three different rotations we were working with, trying to find the right combination and to find their happy spots in the rotations,” Garcia said. “We finally got the right group going in a positive direction and it paid off.”
Indeed, the Lady Reds reeled off 12 consecutive wins before a late-season road match at rival Garden City saw their win streak end in a three-set loss to the Lady Buffaloes.
“It’s hard to beat a team more than twice and we have now played them five times,” Garcia said. “They’re a really good team and we had to try new things at WAC because they were so familiar with what we were trying to do.”
The WAC title coincided with the sub-state title, dating back to that 2008 season when the program last won the same two events.
“As a coach, you just try to find the most consistent players and you have to be perfect in scoring and consistent overall,” Garcia said. “We moved them all over the place but we found the ones who are more of a team player because it’s important in a team sport.”
Garcia said she believes her own playing experience has garnered a high level of trust amongst her players.
“I’ve been in their shoes and I can relate to what they’re going through,” Garcia said. “I can tell them what it’s like at the next level, too, and they have responded with a lot of hard work. I think they are now convinced they have more in them than they thought.”
The all-WAC first team was comprised of five seniors and one sophomore, giving credence to experience as being a big factor in many teams’ success.
FIRST TEAM ALL-WAC
GARDEN CITY—Piper Harris, 10
GREAT BEND—Valarie Luna, 12; Rylie Duvall, 12
HAYS—Carly Lang, 12
LIBERAL—Lizzy Cisneros, 12; Rylie Hallman, 12
COACH OF YEAR—Katie Garcia, Liberal
PLAYER OF YEAR—Valarie Luna, Great Bend
SECOND TEAM ALL_WAC
GARDEN CITY—Makenzie Lucas, 12; Kierra Pinchon, 9
HAYS—Annie Humphrey, 9; Aubrey Thomas, 11
DODGE CITY—Easha Potts, 11
GREAT BEND—Sadie Spray, 11
