Central High School boys volleyball gets unbelievable rally in 5th set to defeat Staley; win Class 2 District 8 Championship for first time

(KANSAS CITY, MO) - Heading into Friday night, the Central High School boys volleyball team in the short three year history of the program had never beaten Staley. The team was 0-7 all time and had lost to the Falcons the past two years in the post season, including last year in the Class 2 District 8 Championship Game.

Friday night, the Indians said enough is enough.

In a district championship re-match, Central jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two sets. But then Staley countered with dominant volleyball to then win the next two sets to tie it 2-2 and send it to a fifth and deciding set.

In the fifth set, the Indians had their backs against the wall once again, down 14-8 and just one point away from their season ending.

Then...magic happened.

Central suddenly could do no wrong. Central reeled off 8 straight unanswered points to storm back and take set 5, 16-14 to win the district title 3-2 in 5 sets (25-17, 25-20, 19-25, 18-25, 16-14). Senior A.J. Whiteman delivering the clinching spike to hammer home the historic comeback win for the program.

"Means everything to the world. Ever since day one of tryouts I've always wanted to take it far. I love the sport as soon as I immediately started playing," said Whiteman. "So just being in that district championship last year too, playing against the Staley Falcons again and just seeing their level, we knew we had to turn up this season and we did that So exhilarating!"

"Fantastic finish, unbelievable. So proud of these kids. We put in a lot of time, whether it's in the summertime or off season, said head coach Dan McCamy. "All these things we do, we do a lot with these kids and I'm just proud of the program as a whole."

Central becomes a district champion for the first time ever and improves to 29-6-1 on the season. The Indians now host a Class 2 State Quarterfinal game with Rockhurst on Thursday, May 21st at 6:30 pm. The winner advances to the Final Four in Cape Girardeau on Tuesday, May 26th.