Argonia girls volleyball team is heading to state for the second year in a row
The 2024 Argonia volleyball sub-state team.
By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newcow — The Argonia Red Raiders girl’s volleyball has returned to the state.
Argonia, 38-6, will play in the Class 1A Div. II volleyball tournament at Emporia’s White Auditorium this Friday. If it finishes in the top two of its four-team pool, it will advance to the four-team bracket round on Saturday to compete for a state championship.
The Red Raiders defeated St. Paul 19-15, 25-9, 25-9 and Attica 23-25, 25-16, 25-23 in the Attica sub-state last weekend to reach the big tournament for the second consecutive year.
The week before, Argonia won the regional championship with wins over Buffalo-Altoona Midway 25-3, 25-6 and Hartford 25-8, 25-11.
The state bracket for this weekend is as follows:
Argonia went to the Class 1A Div. II tournament last year in Emporia, when it went 1-2 in pool play.
This year, many of the same teams are returning. Both defending state champion Lebo and runner-up Hanover are back with just four losses between them. Argonia comes in as the fourth seed and will battle Grainfield-Wheatland/Grinnell to open the tournament at 10 a.m. It will then play Linn at noon and No. 1 seed Hanover at 3 p.m.
The team leaders consist of:
•Autumn Coleman, a junior, who averages 3.7 kills per set and 353 kills for the season.
•Tori Morrison, a junior, who has a .265 hitting percentage.
•Lakelyn Love, a senior, who leads the team with 41 total blocks.
•Kara Jones, a junior, who leads the team with 682 assists.
It should be an interesting run for the Red Raiders, who hasn’t lost a match since Flinthills on Oct. 12 – a state qualifier in Class 1A Div. 1.
