Lady Buffs’ volleyball grabs 3rd in tough McPherson Invitational
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (GCHS Sports Information) — It was the third and final major weekend tournament for the Garden City Lady Buffaloes volleyball when they arrived early Saturday at the McPherson Invitational.
They had already experienced high-level competition in Colorado Springs and the Topeka-Seaman Invitational, just a couple weeks earlier.
Looming on the court would be No. 4-ranked Wichita-Bishop Carroll in Class 5A and No. 7-ranked Class 4A host McPherson, a team the Lady Buffs had beaten at the outset of the fall campaign.
The eight-team tournament was divided into two, four-team pools. Upon the conclusion of the three pool play matches, the top two seeds were bracketed against the runner-up teams from the opposite bracket.
The Lady Buffs went 2-1, easily handling Salina South (25-21, 25-9) and Wichita Heights (25-15, 25-14) before dropping a two-set match to McPherson (21-25, 19-25). That put them into the semifinals against Bishop Carroll, a team they had lost to at Topeka Seaman’s tournament.
“We are at a time in our season where we want to be playing our best volleyball,” Head Coach Trista Bailey said. “We certainly saw glimpses of that throughout the day. When everything is clicking, this group is tough to beat.”
McPherson, with home court advantage, proved to be the toughest pool play match for the Buffs.
“Losing in the pool play match to McPherson wasn’t part of our plan on Saturday,” Bailey said, “but they are a really well-coached team and played really well all day, knocking off Bishop Carroll in the championship.”
In a marathon three-set match with Bishop Carroll, the Buffs just came up short, falling 25-22, 24-26, 20-25. McPherson, meanwhile, had swept Garden Plain, 25-21, 25-19, in the other semifinal.
In the third-place match, the Lady Buffs survived another three-set match against the Lady Owls, finishing with a 25-15, 19-25, 25-20 victory. The 3-2 record for the tournament improves their season mark to 20-8 in matches counted by KSHSAA.
McPherson upset Bishop Carroll in the championship match, 25-16, 19-25, 25-21.
“We switched up our defense for the weekend and we saw some really good things come from that,” Bailey said. “Gracyn Doll in double-digit digs in multiple matches is a huge step for her and she’s really coming into her own in the libero position. We were continually mixing up our Serve receive formations trying to find the right combination of passers as that seemed to be an area of
weakness on Saturday.”
It will be a quick recovery as the Buffs travel to Liberal on Tuesday for the final Western Athletic Conference quadrangular. They will face Dodge City, Great Bend and Liberal to conclude the 12-match WAC schedule. Currently, they are in second place at 7-2, with Great Bend leading at 9-0. Hays is 5-7 and has finished WAC play. Dodge City is 3-6 and Liberal 0-9. This new format replaces the one day, round-robin format of the past.
“Leading into our final week of WAC play, I think there is plenty to still prove,” Bailey said. “We have our sights set on beating Great Bend, hosting sub-state, and ending our two-year drought from representing the West at the 6A state tournament.”
Following Tuesday, the Lady Buffs will await to find out their seed for the 6A sub-state. It’s possible they could host one if they finish among the top four teams in the West rankings. The sub-state is set for Oct. 24. The 6A state tournament is being played this year at AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk in Overland Park on Oct. 29 to 31.
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McPherson Volleyball Invitational
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026
At McPherson Roundhouse
Team Standings
McPherson; 2. Wichita-Bishop Carroll; 3. Garden City; 4. Garden Plain.
Garden City Results
Pool Play
Def. Salina South, 25-21, 25-9
Def. Wichita Heights, 25-15, 25-14
Lost to McPherson, 21-25, 19-25
Cross-Bracket Semifinal
Lost to Wichita-Bishop Carroll, 25-22, 24-26, 20-25
Third Place
Def. Garden Plain, 25-15, 19-25, 25-20
Season Record: Won 20, Lost 8
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Individual Statistics
Vs. Salina South
Aces: Josslynn George 4, Livi Meng 2, Gracyn Doll 2.
Kills: Sophie Doll 8, Haven Hemmert 6, Charly Vollertsen 6, Livi Meng 2, Erin Finch 2.
Assists: Josslynn George, 22.
Digs: Charly Vollertsen 5, Kaylee McDonald 4, Gracy Doll, Haven Hemmert, Josslynn George, 3 each.
Vs. Wichita Heights
Aces: Gracyn Doll 4, Josslynn George 3, Erin Finch 2, Livi Meng 1.
Kills: Charly Vollertsen 9, Haven Hemmert 6, Sophie Doll 2, Erin Finch 2.
Assists: Josslynn George 18.
Blocks: Erin Finch 1, Sophie Doll 1.
Digs: Josslynn George 4, Erin Finch, Natalie Brown, Kaylee McDonald, 3 each.
Vs. McPherson
Aces: Charly Vollertsen 2, Gracyn Doll 1, Livi Meng 1.
Kills: Charly Vollertsen 8, Haven Hemmert 8, Erin Finch, Livi Meng and Sophie Doll, 1 each.
Assists: Josslynn George 15.
Digs: Josslynn George 11, Sophie Doll 6, Kaylee McDonald 5, Gracyn Doll 4, Livi Meng, Natalie Brown, Haven Hemmert, Ellie Sekavec, 2 each.
Vs. Bishop Carroll
Aces: Charly Vollertsen 4, Livi Meng 2.
Kills: Charly Vollertsen 21, Haven Hemmert 9, Sophie Doll 5, Livi Meng 3, Erin Finch 3.
Assists: Josslynn George, 37.
Blocks: Sophie Doll 6, Erin Finch 5.
Digs: Gracyn Doll, 14; Josslynn George, 9; Charly Vollertsen, 8; Livi Meng, 7; Natalie Brown, 6; Haven Hemmert, 5; Ellie Sekavec, 4; Erin Finch, 3.
Vs. Garden Plain
Aces: Josslynn George 6; Gracyn Doll, 3; Livi Meng 2; Erin Finch and Haven Hemmert 1 each.
Kills: Haven Hemmert, 12; Livi Meng, 7; Charly Vollertsen, 6; Erin Finch, 3; Sophie Doll, 3.
Assists: Josslynn George, 27.
Digs: Gracyn Doll, 14; Charly Vollertsen, 7; Josslynn George and Natalie Brown, 5 each; Kaylee McDonald, 4; Erin Finch, 3.