Sutton closes out season at 19-13
Coming off their tough five-set loss in the first round of the D1-2 Sub-District tournament to Tri County Monday, Oct. 27, the Sutton Fillies got a second chance to make their bid for the 2025 Class D-1 state tournament by picking up one of four wildcard spots in the D-1 District Final round Saturday, Nov. 1.
Their foe? A very familiar challenger in the Bobcats of Exeter-Milligan/Friend.
Sutton and EMF had played two times already this season, with the Fillies beating the Bobcats on their home floor in both matches this past September They took down EMF 25-23, 25-19 Sept. 13 in the EMF tournament, before retuning to Friend High School for a regular season dual with the Bobcats, where EMF claimed a first set win, 25-18, before Sutton rallied to claim wins in the final three sets, 25-20, 25-15, 25-20.
The rematch in the D1-6 District Final this past Saturday, the Bobcats and Fillies battled back and forth during the five-set, just over two-hour match, also in Friend.
The Bobcats, in the end, claimed wins in the first, third, and fifth sets, 25-16, 2515, 15-5, while Sutton gained wins in the second and fourth sets, 25-19, 25-20.
Senior Kyla Griess picks up this serve during the Fillies’ district final match up with EMF Saturday, Nov. 1. The Fillies dropped a tough five-set loss to end the 2025 season one match shy of the D-1 state tournament. Kamryn Stienhauer, left, looks on during the play. TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS
The loss for Sutton ended their season with a 19-13 overall record and just one match short of the state tournament.
Serving leaders for the Fillies were Kamryn Steinhauer with four aces, Elsa Andersen with two, while Kayden Kauk and Avery Smith both had one.
As a team, Sutton was 76-86 serving (88.4%).
On the attack, Steinhauer and Katie Baldwin had 20 and 16 kills, respectively. Steinhauer hit .134 with 11 errors on 67 attempts, while Baldwin hit .140 with nine errors on 50 total attempts. Miranda Nuss finished with five kills, and Kaci Yost with four.
As a team, Sutton hit .086, with 32 total errors on 185 total attempts.
Setting up the hitting attack was Smith with 23 assists, as she was a perfect 88-88, while Andersen put up 15 assists, going 47-47 in the match.
Nuss and Baldwin blocked five EMF hits each, with Yost blocking four as Sutton outblocked the Bobcats 20-10 in the match.
Dig leaders proved to be Griess with 28, Steinhauer with 21, and Andersen with 11.
Seniors Kaci Yost (26) and Miranda Nuss (28) go up for a block attempt against EMF hitter Kaydence Haase Saturday in Friend. Yost and Nuss combined for nine blocks in the season ending loss. TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS
Junior Katie Baldwin had 16 kills in the D1-6 District Final with EMF, while Avery Smith (18) put up a team-high 23 assists. Junior Kamryn Steinhauer, in back, had a team-high 20 kills. TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS
Senior Avery Smith sets up Katie Baldwin as Kayden Kauk and Kamryn Steinhauer watch on during the play. TORY DUNCAN | CLAY COUNTY NEWS
