Blue Valley West senior Madison Lilley wins Evelyn Gates Award as top volleyball player

From playing on the USA Junior National Team to being named National Junior of the Year by PrepVolleyball.com last season, Madison Lilley’s career at Blue Valley West is finally coming to a close.

Lilley was named the Evelyn Gates Award winner Thursday in a ceremony at BV West. The award goes to the top volleyball player in the Kansas City metro area each year. Lilley, who has signed to play at the University of Kentucky, helped lead BV West to a Kansas Class 6A runner-up finish last month, after a 39-0 regular season.

“Seeing my senior season kind of come to an end has been tough,” Lilley said. “I still have club ball to play and then I’m headed to Kentucky on June 2, so it’s a pretty quick turnaround from graduation to when I leave, so I’m kind of soaking it all in.”

Lilley, a setter, was also named the Eastern Kansas League player of the year earlier this month. The awards come after BV West was upset in the Kansas Class 6A tournament, a year after bringing home the title in 2015.

“It would have been so nice to get a state championship and get another ring to finish out my career,” she said. “But it’s such an honor to have even been a finalist, so winning this award finished off my senior season in a really good way.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Blue Valley West senior Madison Lilley wins Evelyn Gates Award as top volleyball player."