Bullpups Make History at Home Invitational
Romero, Doile Hit 1,000 Kills as Coach Doile Notches 600th Win
The McPherson Bullpups volleyball team made program history this weekend at their home invitational hosted at Salina South High School, as seniors Ava Romero and Brooke Doile both surpassed 1,000 career kills while head coach Kim Doile earned her 600th career victory. The Bullpups finished as tournament runner-up with a 4-1 record, sweeping through pool play with wins over Salina South (25-19, 25-14), Nickerson (25-14, 25-16), and Garden Plain (22-25, 25-19, 25-19) before defeating Hutchinson in the semifinals (25-20, 23-25, 25-18) and falling to 5A powerhouse Bishop Carroll in the championship match (10-25, 27-29).
Romero dominated the tournament with 45 kills and a team-high 51 digs while adding 5 aces and 4 blocks. Doile contributed 38 kills, 29 digs, and a tournament-best 7 aces despite rolling her ankle during the opening match against Salina South. Junior Carmin Pavlovich added 37 kills and led all players with 5 blocks, while setter Rylie Whitfield orchestrated the offense with 128 assists and 35 digs. Elley Paulsen chipped in 4 aces and 4 blocks for the balanced Bullpup attack.
The championship match against Bishop Carroll proved the most challenging test of the day. McPherson struggled in the opening set before showing significantly more heart and competitiveness in the second set, holding three set points before falling 27-29 to the 5A program that entered with just one loss on the season. Coach Doile praised her team's fight in the second set despite the loss to the program led by legendary coach Terri Larson.
Coach Doile's 600th victory caps a remarkable career that spans 20 seasons as head coach since taking over in fall 2006. Now standing at 601-227 overall, she has been part of the volleyball staff for 26 years, initially serving as an assistant before becoming head coach. Combined with her seven seasons as McPherson's head softball coach from 2001-2007, Coach Doile has served as a head coach at MHS for 26 years. Adding to the program's continuity, current varsity assistant Cheryl Malm was the head volleyball coach before Coach Doile and has remained on staff for 19 seasons, creating one of the most stable and successful programs in Kansas high school volleyball.
Greg Loving
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