Making their second state tournament appearance in the last three years, Holton volleyball knew they would have their hands full at Class 4A in Hutchinson.  Yet, the Wildcats proved to be just as good as their first two opponents in pool play as they went three sets each with Nickerson and Louisburg before ending the season in a tough match for pride against Andale at 11:00 PM on Friday night.  Andale would go on to place runner-up, falling to Hayden in the title match on Saturday.  Going 0-3 on Friday, Holton ended their season with a program best 30 wins against 14 losses.  

Holton started state by falling to Nickerson 25-22, 21-25, 25-23. The Cats had leads and chances in each game and actually led by as many as 18-8 in the second set before getting that win. Holton pulled within 22-20 in game three and had a chance to get another point on a power spike by Paige Crouch, but a net violation make it 23-20 instead and Nickerson took the win. 

In match two, Holton jumped to a 7-2 advantage and had two game-points with a 24-22 lead against Louisburg.  However Louisburg scored the final four points to take a 26-24 win.  If Holton could have just converted one of those set points, they would have rolled to the win as the Cats ralled from a 20-14 deficit in game two and took a 23-22 lead before posting a 25-23 impressive comeback win.  However, Holton again dug themselves a four-point hole early in set three and never recovered as Louisburg won 25-20 and went on to place fourth in State.  

Holton's final game came after a nearly three hour wait and was delayed till 11 PM. It was a game for pride as the Wildcats had been eliminated from the semifinals and Andale was already 2-0 on the day before beating the Cats by a 25-11 and 25-13 score.  

Coach Janelle Noel's team was led by seven super seniors in: Faith Haussler, Cailin Parks, Olivia Yingst, Savvy Booth, Danika Hickman, Kinleigh Rhodd and Paige Crouch.  In a very class act move, the Holton volleyball team came back after a short night to the Hutchinson sports arena on Saturday and supported and cheered on their Jackson County/Big 7 League competition from Royal Valley as the Panthers went on to claim their first state volleyball title in Class 3A.