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| Seniors pass Panther volleyball tradition to underclassmen |
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| Sports | |||
| Written by Gene Morris | |||
| Tuesday, 10 November 2009 08:00 | |||
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The torch has been passed on. Coming off a 28-win season and a second trip to state in three years, the seniors kept the Paola High School volleyball tradition alive and well.  Now, Kayla Offutt, Briana Mueller, Hillary Watrous and Allison Wood leave the task of living up to that tradition in the hands of varsity underclassmen like libero Courtney Johnson, setter Mallorie Nelson and hitters Melanie Golubski and Kelli Cullor. Offutt, Mueller, Watrous and Wood know what it is like to carry on, following in the footsteps of all-league players Megan Hayes and Rachel Hanf. With Hayes and Hanf, the Paola Panther program posted back-to-back 30-win seasons and made a trip to the Class 4A state tournament. Offutt, Mueller, Watrous and Wood put an exclamation point on their season no other Panther team ever has, winning the Frontier League volleyball tournament and substate title in the same season. Paola went 28-15, ending its season among the top eight in the state for the 64-team Class 4A. “You followed two 30-win teams and you did things they didn’t do,” Paola coach Michelle Abshire said to her team at state. “We carried on the tradition and will continue to do that. I’m very proud of you.” Heading into the season, few gave the Panthers much of a chance at going to state, except the girls in that locker room. “We had some big shoes to fill, no one really expected us to get here,” Wood said. “We overcame a lot of adversity. “I’m so proud of our team, winning league and substate in the same season is something no one else has ever done,” she said. “This is the most improved team I’ve ever played on from the start of the season to the finish. At the start of the season, we didn’t even know who was going to start, I think that made us work harder in practice.” Losing two big front row hitters in Hayes and Hanf, one might have expected a rebuilding year. Not the Panthers. Not the girls who had been battling against them in practice for the three previous seasons. “When you have a good program, the junior varsity players really push the varsity,” Abshire said. “The junior varsity players challenging the varsity makes the junior varsity players hungry.” It did not take long for Abshire to know they had a top-notch front row hitter coming in when she saw Offutt for the first time. “When Kayla was a sophomore, we saw her out there battling the varsity, and we knew she was going to be special,” Abshire said. Ottuff and Mueller led the Panthers up front, stepped into full-time starting rolls in the absence of Hayes and Hanf. Offutt and Mueller combined for more than 70 stuff blocks, 200 blocks and more than 600 kills. Wood, Paola’s quarterback on the floor at setter, had 1,005 assists. “Allison, I can say is the best setter to ever go through this program,” Abshire said. Watrous missed several weeks after having appendicitis and worked hard to not only come back, but to lift the Panthers in some big matches. Volleyball is not just a game for the girls on this program, it is much more, Watrous said. “This team has a big heart. We play with a lot of passion for the game of volleyball,” Watrous said. Mueller will never play for another volleyball team, calling it a career with Paola. “That was my last game of volleyball,” Mueller said. “It hasn’t hit me that it’s over. I’m going to miss the girls, we’re all so different and we learned how to be friends.” The Panthers are already setting goals for next season. Ready to carry on the tradition are Johnson, Cullor, Golubski and Nelson, four starters, who are coming back. Paola also returns Kristin Engbroten, a defensive specialist. Cullor finished the season with 95 kills and 130 blocks, including 30 stuff blocks. Golubski served 91 percent, including 39 aces. She had 75 kills and 49 blocks. Defensively, she was an anchor for Paola with 340 digs. Johnson led the team with 596 digs. She was also the team leader in aces with 45. Johnson added 21 kills. Nelson had 25 aces, served 93 percent to lead the team and registered 150 digs. Engbroten was a spark for the defense as well, making 121 digs.
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