Rising Star: Maize South brings load of Division I talent in hopes for first title

MAIZE, Kan. (Catch it Kansas) - The Maize South Mavericks are a force to be reckoned with on the volleyball court. After cracking the state tournament year in and year out, this year’s team - off to an 8-0 start - may be the best one yet.

The Mavericks have talent littered all over the court, including three of their starting six already committed to the Division I level in Gracie Morrow (Wichita State), Camdyn Stucky (Tennessee) and Jillian Gregory (Oregon State).

“Usually with school ball it’s kind of just like a mix of girls and you get what you get, but I would have picked these girls out,” Stucky said. “We’re going to be playing with high level girls in college, so getting this exposure early on is really good for us.”

“It really is an anomaly group of kids and I tell them that all the time,” Maize South head coach Alexis Head said. “In a public school setting, you just don’t get this this level of talent.”

That level of talent, is almost a necessity to compete in that loaded class 5A state tournament.

“Every team is good. Every single team is good,” Morrow said. “It’s hard to find a team that’s just a blow over. It’s really hard in 5A.”

After showcasing what they are capable of with their undefeated start, this team wants to be the one that brings the first volleyball title in school history to Maize South.

“Honestly, I feel like we have such a great opportunity this year to just absolutely kill it,” Morrow said. “It just makes me so excited to see how far we’re going to go this year.”

“They’re super hungry,” Head said. “They’ve talked about it. They point up to our state championship wall that’s over here and you know, they want a banner up there. They want to make this stretch of wins worth it and not just be looked at like ‘Oh, that was a good team that did ‘X, Y, Z’ things for four years.’ They want to be that team that won the state championship.”

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