An intense three-set match on Saturday ended with Iola High’s volleyball team winning a Class 4A-Division II Sub-State bracket and a spot in the Class 4A-Division II State Tournament.
“The first time we went was when I was a freshman in 2002 and we haven’t been since,” Emily Sigg said. “I’m glad to go back.”
Now Sigg will be going to the state tournament as a coach, instead of player.
In order for Iola to qualify for state, it required the Fillies to beat Anderson County in the sub-state final. Earlier this week, Iola came out on the losing end of a three-set match to the Bulldogs in Garnett. This match, an energetic home crowd helped Iola win a dominant third set.
The Fillies won the first set 25-21. Trailing 12-9, Iola scored three straight points to tie the match. Going point-for-point, Iola took hold of the game after getting a 16-15 advantage. Five points later, Iola led 21-16 before the Bulldogs closed in with two straight points to pull within three. Iola scored one more point, only to have Anderson County win three more points to make the score 22-21 in favor of Iola. The Fillies went on a three-point rally to end the match and win the set.
In the second set, the Bulldogs won 25-22. Iola held an 18-16 advantage late in the set, but wasn’t able to hold on. The Bulldogs took over with a 20-19 lead and never gave it up to win the set. This set up a third set, which seemed inevitable before the match even began.
“We expected it to go three sets,” Sigg said. “I’m just glad we pulled it out. I kept saying ‘OK, up by seven, that’s not enough. Up by 10, still not enough; 15 points, we’re good.”
The Fillies flew past the Bulldogs for a 25-10 win in the third set. With the score 5-4, the Fillies went on a dominant run to take a 14-8 lead — that’s as close as the Bulldogs would come. A six-point rally put the Fillies up 20-8, when Anderson County scored two straight points bringing the score within 10 points. That’s all the Bulldogs would score. The Fillies ended the match on five straight points to qualify for the state tournament.
Emery Driskel led the team with 17 kills and two aces. Both Kyra Moore and Emma Piazza led the Fillies with 20 assists each. Moore had five kills and Piazza had eight. Addie Haar had 11 kills, three assists and an ace. Mikaela Platt had an ace and two kills. Sydney Wade had two kills.
After the match Sigg told the team that the season wasn’t over.
“I said, ‘We’re not done, we have one more week of practice. There’s still a lot more to go.”
To get to the finals, Iola had to get past Parsons first. The Fillies beat the Vikings with ease.
Iola won the first set 25-12. Iola took an early 4-0 lead and never gave it up. With the score 16-3 in favor of Iola, Parsons went on a six-point rally to pull within 16-9. However, it wouldn’t be enough for the Vikings who scored only three more points. The Fillies’ lead was too big to overcome.
Iola won the second set 25-11, starting with a 5-0 lead. The Fillies kept the lead the entire match. The closest the score got was 10-6, before Iola went on to win 15 of the next 20 points.
Piazza and Moore each led the team in assists again, this time with eight apiece. Piazza also had two aces and three kills, while Moore had three kills. Haar had seven kills and an ace. Driskel had six kills and an ace. Platt and Wade each had a kill.
“We’re beyond excited,” Sigg said. “I’m glad that they get to experience state because it’s the highlight of a high school career.”
The Fillies travel to Salina for the Class 4A-Division II State Tournament on Friday and Saturday.
Fillies heading to state volleyball tournament
