Great Bend’s volleyball makes it a WAC trifecta

Lady Panthers get a 3-peat conference title

Winning never gets tiring for Great Bend volleyball coach Shelly Duvall, but she also knows that taking a team from regular season to a conference title and then perhaps beyond requires even more hard work and dedication.

She’s always been able to extract the hard work and dedication from her Great Bend teams as attested by her eight-year record of 195 wins against just 84 losses (.699 winning percentage).

But following a brilliant 30-2 regular season record a year ago, the Panthers qualified for the Class 5A state tournament and came home empty-handed.

Despite that 0-3 record in Pool Play, the Panthers extended two of the three matches to a deciding third set in the best 2-of-3 format. They lost in three sets to Wichita-Kapaun Mt. Carmel and Andover High, while dropping a two-set match to St. James Academy. St. James and Kapaun eventually finished third and fourth.

“I knew that if we wanted to be able to compete better at the state we had to change our regular season schedule to see more better teams from the East,” said DuVall, who guided her Panthers to their third straight Western Athletic Conference championship on Oct. 18 on their home floor.

It was not the easy path to the third straight title that a coach might prefer, as the Panthers had to go three set matches with both Garden City and Liberal while taking Hays and Dodge City down in straight sets.

So, the WAC title became the first steppingstone for the Lady Panthers as they followed that with a Class 5A sub-state title on Oct. 25 to earn a return trip to Salina for the 2025 state tournament on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1. Victories there came over Valley Center (25-20, 25-20) and Andover Central (25-19, 25-19).

Despite a No. 6 overall seed among the eight teams qualifying for state, the Panthers had high hopes of reaching the final day for the state semifinals and either a berth in the championship match or playing for third place.

Neither materialized as the Lady Panthers went 1-2 in Pool Play on Thursday (Oct. 30). They feel to No. 3-seeded Blue Valley-Southwest (11-25, 10-25) but then pulled off an upset of No. 2-seeded Maize South (13-25, 26-24, 25-20). One more match win and Saturday would became a reality. But in the way was Wichita-Kapaun Mt. Carmel, the No. 7 seed and despite winning the first set (29-27) they fell in the final two sets (18-25, 21-25). 

The 2025 season came to an end with a 28-11 won-loss record.

How the 2025 Season Progressed
The 2025 edition of Great Bend volleyball got off to a strong start early in the year only to hit a major roadblock in late September when they travel to Topeka for the Washburn Rural Invitational.

Going into the one-day, four-match event, the Panthers were at a respectable 9-5 won-loss record, but that day dropped all four matches to highly-regarded St. James Academy (2 sets), Manhattan (2 sets), Blue Valley (3 sets) and Washburn Rural (3 sets). That had followed a two-set loss to Hutchinson two days prior.

The five-match losing streak left the Panthers with a 9-9 record.

That final Saturday of September was the last time they lost through the sub-state, winning 18 consecutive matches to take a 27-9 mark to state.

“We played teams at Washburn Rural that we’re not familiar with out West,” Duvall said. “Despite the losses, we learned from that tournament. Everybody at that level runs things faster and we learned what we needed to do to get better.”

Duvall said her 2025 edition is perhaps a more well-rounded team, with solid players on the front row, back row, middle and strong in the serve-receive area.

“I think in the past we’ve perhaps had more power hitters, but we’re very strong in the front row and very good in the back,” Duvall said. “There is a high volleyball IQ with this group.”

The team revolves around 5-10 junior setter Kya Behr, who was named WAC Player of the Year (see story below). Behr reached the 2,000-assist level this year with one full year remaining.

“With her playing all six rotations, it gives us a steady hand,” Duvall said of Behr. “Our outsides play all six rotations, too, and we have a defensive specialist who can play front row. I think our bench is just as strong when they’re on the court.”

Duvall had high praise for the team’s personality and ability to switch from relaxed well ahead of matches to being focused on the challenge once warm-ups begin and then when the first serve is made.

“They’ll do other things to relax ahead of matches,” Duvall said. “They’re cool as cucumbers, and they’ve already trained by studying film and they are an even-keel group.”

In matches, Duvall stresses to her squad to play in small increments of five-points – wanting to be the first to five, the first to 10 and then the first to 15. From, there it becomes a race to 25.

“At that point of a match, it’s a push and we play a game to 10,” Duvall said of the 15 to 25 strategy.

In winning their third straight WAC title, Duvall said she is most proud of the hard work and determination that her squad has put in over the past number of months.

“They love what they’re doing, and they find ways to relax and enjoy the game,” Duvall said. “I often believe that when you overthink things, the game becomes un-fun. Having lost some great seniors in 2024, this year has been awesome with a younger team.”

Joining Behr on the all-WAC First Team were seniors Annie Humphrey of Hays and Shamari Lewis of Liberal along with Garden City sophomores Charly Vollertsen and Josslynn George.

Great Bend’s Junior Behr captures WAC Player of Year Award

Since she became a freshman starter on the 2023 Great Bend Lady Panther volleyball team, Kya Behr has become an instrumental component of the team’s success.

The 5-10 setter has played a big role in helping the Lady Panthers to three consecutive WAC Championships and two Class 5A State tournament appearances.

So, it was little surprise when the WAC coaches voted the Lady Panther its 2025 Player of the Year as she helped the team to an overall final record of 28-11, a WAC title, a 5A sub-state championship and the appearance in the State tournament.

“It feels like all the hard work paid off,” said Behr in being notified of the award. “All of my friends on the team have a share in this award because I couldn’t do this without them. It’s a reflection of how hard we all work. We share in this.”

Behr plays the entire six-rotation system for the Lady Panthers so she’s on the court at all times. Before the State tournament, Behr had recorded 132 kills with a hitting percentage of .277, served 47 aces, came up with 280 digs and 745 assists.

For her three-year career, she had 502 kills, a .260 hitting percentage, 123 aces, 873 digs and soared past the 2,000 assist level with 2,163.

“Our freshman year, we ran a different system and now we’re running a 5-1 which is what I played in club volleyball,” Behr said. “It just has made the transition to the high school season that much easier.”

Playing setter, Behr sees herself much like a quarterback on a football team.

“You’re the one who has to make the right decisions,” she said. “You have to have a dominant mindset. I’m blessed that we have a strong serve-receive team and have very good back row players. You’ve got to be able to be in the right position to make the right placement. You have to have the right mentality.”

Another key element to being a successful setter, Behr said, is to have good court vision.

“You have to know where the (opponents) blockers are going in order to find the open angles for shots,” Behr said. “I think we’ve got a lot of the team who are good at different positions on the floor and that makes us a better team. You’ve got to have faith in your teammates.”

Behr recalls that one-day Washburn Rural tournament in which they came home without a win.

“It was an eye-opener for us,” she said. “We saw speed and blocks that we’ve never seen before. We had to come back and build a better way to play and everyone stepped up. Our chemistry is very good considering we have seniors to freshmen who are playing. The senior leaders have been so supportive and encouraging to the younger players.”

When the team hosted the WAC championship, Behr said she knew they had a target on their back.

“Everyone was going to give us their best shot,” Behr said. “Now that we’ve won three and have banners, we’re going to work extra hard to get that fourth one.”

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2025 WAC All-Conference Volleyball
Team Champions: Great Bend

FIRST TEAM SELECTIONS

	NAME	SCHOOL	YEAR
1	*Kya Behr	Great Bend	11
2	Annie Humphrey	Hays	12
3	Josslynn George	Garden City	10
4	Shamari Lewis	Liberal	12
5	Charly Vollertsen	Garden City	10
6	Piper Mellinger	Dodge City	12

SECOND TEAM SELECTIONS

	NAME	SCHOOL	YEAR
1	Mikala Minton	Great Bend	10
2	Brooke Bieker	Hays	11
3	Alex Mayers	Great Bend	11
4	Livi Meng	Garden City	11
5	Madison Mink	Dodge City	11
6	Lynsi Kanak	Hays	11