Murry says KSHSAA rules make it harder for rural public schools
Top-seeded Chanute, which lets any and all through its doors, fell to private school powerhouse Bishop Miege, a school that closes its doors to kids it doesn’t want, in the semifinals of the KSHSAA 4A Sub-State volleyball tournament on Saturday, 2-0 (25-8, 25-17).
It’s the third year in a row that Chanute has lost to Bishop Miege in the sub-state tournament. Despite bringing a 35-1 record into the postseason, Chanute was ranked lower in the state than Bishop Miege by the Kansas Volleyball Association.
“We were obviously nervous,” Chanute head coach Jory Murry said. “We let the moment get the best of us in the first set. In the second set, we realized we were capable of passing balls and scoring points. We just had too many errors and it just got to us.”
Bishop Miege was precise and deadly in its attack, keeping the Blue Comets off balance from the first serve.
“I told the girls that if we could dominate with our serve-receive, we’d be fine. And we didn’t dominate that,” Murry said. “We just couldn’t get past being out of system all the time.”
Miege’s deadliness at the service line was a thorn in the Blue Comets’ side.
“Miege did a really good job with their serving and we knew going in that we needed to be ready for balls served to the line and deep,” Murry said. “The execution just wasn’t there. That was our downfall and we couldn’t come back from it.”
The Blue Comets, who have won four straight SEK League titles, came into Saturday’s sub-state anxious to earn a state tournament berth. A semifinal loss broke the levee and tears flowed.
“They’re obviously devastated,” Murry said. “But everything in the locker room was positive because they’re positive people. Everything was an opportunity to learn. The younger class was so grateful they got to play with the four seniors. Our whole community is so proud of them. They’re such great people. It’s really hard. We’re going to miss them.”
Bishop Miege, which beat Fort Scott in a play-in game before facing Chanute, ended up winning the sub-state title over Louisburg to go to state.
Saturday’s loss was another example of a private school and its resources prying away an equitable opportunity from a taxpayer-funded public school.
Private schools disproportionately win state titles in Kansas, with Bishop Miege being the most common boogeyman in Class 4A.
KSHSAA has a multiplier mandated by its member schools that would bump schools like Bishop Miege up a class, but it sits in limbo as the Kansas State Legislature refuses to change a law that would allow the association to enact it.
“I don’t know who does the voting, but I can guarantee you that they’re not people that understand how the rules affect rural areas,” Murry said. “We’re going to keep doing everything we can to get better.”
Murry highlighted rules restricting high school teammates from playing with each other out of season among other restrictions that she feels disproportionately affects rural public schools.
“Regardless of this situation, I feel like the rules that are in place are only meant to benefit urban areas and larger schools,” Murry said. “Every rule KSHSAA puts in place makes it harder for rural schools to get better. They changed sub-state and moved away from a regional model, and that made it harder. If this team was in a sub-state the way they did it 10 years ago, this team would’ve made state, no problem. (KSHSAA) only lets four players play together on a club out of season. What do you want my kids to do? They’d have to drive hours to go play or pull from other areas. If you go to Olathe, you can throw a rock and find a club to play with. (KSHSAA) refuses to make changes that allow rural schools to get better.”
There is currently momentum gaining for sub-state seeding to take into account strength of schedule.
“Now they want to see if sub-state seeding can be based on the toughness of your schedule,” Murry said. “I don’t know if we’re one of the best eight teams in the state. But do I think we should’ve had to play (Bishop Miege) in the first round? That’s crazy.”
Despite the heartbreak, Chanute’s four seniors — Addy Hughes, Presley Henson, Josey Henson and Kiley Dillow — leave a celebrated legacy. They’ve never known a life in high school without winning a league title and won over 100 matches.
“The last time Chanute had a season this good, we had Macy Flowers on our team,” Murry said. “That was in 2014 and Macy was a Division I volleyball athlete that went to K-State. These girls replicated that with zero Division I volleyball athletes. That’s literally all hard work and team chemistry. They were good leaders. That’s crazy special.”
Looking ahead
Chanute enters a reload phase this offseason. Murry has recent experience keeping up the beat despite mass losses as the Blue Comets graduated nine seniors two years ago.
“They’re all so grateful to have those four seniors to set the table for how we do things,” Murry said. “They’re all lucky to have them to follow their lead. We’ve got a handful of juniors that can step into those leadership roles. Our JV team only lost one game all season. So we have a lot of talent at that level. That’s not to say that JV and varsity level are the same competitively. But that gives us a positive outlook on the future. It’ll all come down to how much the girls grow in the offseason. We’ll really have to figure out who our setter will be. That will be our biggest thing — figuring out who’s going to run the court for us.”
