Buhler volleyball falls in state tournament pool play
Story & phots by Dale Grosbach
The Buhler High School Crusaders volleyball team battled adversity this season, finishing in the lower half of the KSHSAA Class 4A West region. However, they showed their quality in their sub-state matches, sweeping the Towanda-Circle Thunderbirds 2-0 (25-23, 25-21) and exciting their fans with a straight-sets win over host Mulvane 2-0 (25-19, 25-18). With those victories, the Crusaders advanced to this week's State Tournament at Hutchinson Sports Arena as the No. 7 seed.
Buhler played back-to-back pool play matches at Hutchinson Sports Arena. In the first match, the Crusaders faced Clay Center High School. Clay Center won the match 2-0 (25-12, 25-18). The Tigers demonstrated a strong service game that the Crusaders struggled to counter.
In the second match, Buhler faced McPherson High School. The match went to three sets: McPherson took the first set 25-22, Buhler won the second set 25-17, and McPherson claimed the deciding set 25-19 to secure a 2-1 victory. The Buhler Crusaders ended the season with a record of 15-24.
