Eudora — After finishing third at the Class 3A state tournament last year, Wellsville High appears primed for a return trip to Salina.
The Eagles outlasted Eudora on Tuesday with a 15-5, 13-15, 15-10 victory in the Cardinals' gym.
"I liked the way they buckled down in the third game when it was close," Eagles coach John Dowling said. "That's what it will take for us to have success."
After the lopsided victory in the first game, Wellsville led 13-11 in the second but couldn't put the Cardinals away. Eudora closed to 13-12 before junior Melanie Smith's three consecutive service points gave the Cardinals a 15-13 win.
"For the most part we played really solid defense," Cardinals coach Brian Kraus said. "We covered the court well and the hustle was good."
Eudora couldn't keep the momentum in the third game. Senior Ashley Carpenter and junior Jill Dorsey supplied four kills apiece to lead the Eagles in the decisive game.
"We want those two to be handling the ball when the game's close," Dowling said. "They should be our finishers."
They were. The majority of their kills either stopped any momentum Eudora started to build or kept the Eagles in the lead. Dorsey had two kills for sideouts after the Cardinals had closed to within a point, and two of Carpenter's kills gave Wellsville three-point leads.
Down 11-6, Eudora closed within 11-10 on mis-hits by Wellsville, but the Eagles then scored four straight points for the win. Included in the four-point run were an ace by junior Kathy Patton for a 13-10 lead and a block by sophomore Amber Lund for the final point.
Although optimistic about the team's chances for the season, Kraus said the Cards' serving and passing must improve.
"Last year we kind of lived and died by blocks and kills," he said. "This year we're going to have to win with defense, serving and teamwork."
Dowling said the Eagles are looking to return to the state tournament.
"It's still early in the season and we've got a lot of things to get better at," he said, "but I think we'll get there.
"Our goal is to get back to state and move it up a notch," he said. "We want to play for the championship."
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