Iola High’s volleyball team made the state tournament for the first time in 12 years. On Friday, the Fillies will begin pool play with aspirations of making it to Saturday’s final four teams in the Class 4A-Division II State Tournament.
To get to state, Iola beat Anderson County in the Class 4A-Division II Sub-State Tournament last weekend at Iola. In the regular season, the Fillies split their matches at one apiece against Anderson County. The three-set match sent the Fillies to the state tournament and a 2-1 record against the Bulldogs.
Iola finished the regular season 24-13 after sub-state, which earned them a fifth seed in the state tournament — there are eight teams.
“I think we couldn’t have been seeded better,” coach Emily Sigg said. “I know something about each team and from talking to other coaches we’re going to match up well with the other teams. I just think we got really lucky in how we were seeded.”
Sigg didn’t switch up the practice routine this week.
“I scouted all the other teams, but I think we got to state for a reason and we didn’t really need to change anything,” Sigg said. “The girls know how we need to adjust to different hitters if we have to. But, I think we’re just focused on our game and what got us there.”
Iola has played in many tournaments this season and have had to play different styles. On Friday, the team will play two games in a row at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Then the team gets an hour break, until their final match at 12:30.
“We played back-to-back well at sub-state, so I’m hoping that’s a reflection for Friday,” Sigg said. “We have to wake up and get going first thing in the morning. We talked about that a lot, how there is no buffer, you just have to start from the beginning.”
The Fillies already accomplished the team goal of making it to the state tournament, now they have a chance to advance.
“We improved greatly and achieved our ultimate goal,” Sigg said. “I think that’s the best you can hope for.”
The volleyball tournament starts on Friday morning at the Salina Bicentennial Center. Iola’s first game is at 9:30 a.m. Tickets cost $9 for adults and $7 for K-12.
Fillies prep for state tourney
