Volleyball Recap: St. James Academy Falls Short Against Ranked Washburn Rural

St. James Academy faced Washburn Rural in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. The Thunder fell 2-0 to the Blues. The Thunder just can't catch a break and have now endured four losses in a row.

While St. James Academy had to settle for second, they sure made a game of it, scoring at least 18 points in every set they played. The match finished with set scores of 25-21, 25-18.

Abigail May

Digs

09/27/25 vs Washburn Rural	16
09/27/25 @ Manhattan	13
09/25/25 vs Blue Valley Southwest	7
09/25/25 @ Blue Valley North	22
09/17/25 @ Bishop Miege	10
+ 15 more games

When it comes to explaining why St. James Academy lost, don't look at Abigail May. Despite the final result, she had 16 digs and one assist. With that strong performance, May is now averaging an impressive 10.2 digs per game. Sarah Rawlings also deserves some recognition as she had her first block of the season.

St. James Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 14-6. As for Washburn Rural, their victory bumped their record up to 7-3-2.

Coincidentally, St. James Academy and Washburn Rural will both be playing Great Bend the next time they take the court. The Blues will head out to face the Panthers at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, while the Thunder will play them later in the day, at 10:00 a.m.