Fillies take home third in tourney

A day filled with both the thrill of victory and agony of defeat ended on a high note for Iola High’s Fillies Saturday.
The fillies knocked off Labette County High in their final match of the day at the invitational, securing third place in the process, Iola’s best showing at its own tournament since finishing third in 2007.
The finish was a fitting cap on the Fillies’ roller-coaster day.
Pool play opened with a straight-set win over Prairie View and a loss to Labette County. Then came perhaps Iola’s match of the day, a scintillating 25-20, 25-23 win over Pittsburg, to secure a berth among the tournament’s final four teams.
The Fillies advanced to the semifinals, where they were pitted against defending champion Burlington.
Iola began the Burlington match like gangbusters, racing to a 13-6 lead in the opening game en route to a 25-22 win.
The fun continued in the second game. Iola led 9-3 and 13-6 before the momentum shifted. The Wildcats closed the frame with a 12-3 run of its own to win, 25-19, and set up the tie-breaker.
The teams battled to a dead heat, 13-13, before Burlington rattled off four straight points.
Emery Driskel knocked down a kill to end the streak, but the Wildcats finished off the match with eight straight points to seal the 25-14 win.
The victory catapulted the Wildcats into the championship match, where they downed Anderson County for the title, winning 25-23, 25-11.
Iola didn’t let the disappointment linger.
The Fillies scored six of the first seven points and led 23-13 before the Grizzlies made things interesting with six straight points. But Iola’s Emma Piazza knocked down a kill, followed two points later by Addie Haar’s kill to secure the 25-21 victory. The second game was no contest as Iola rolled from the start in a 25-8 finale.
“By then, Labette County was pretty tired and down a player,” Iola coach Emily Sigg said. “It was good to get the win.”
Sigg was pleased with her team’s effort.
“The girls fought hard all day,” Sigg said. “I thought the Pittsburg win was a big one for us. It really gave the girls a lot of confidence. We were the only team to defeat Burlington in a game, which shows how good we played. Now, it’s up to us to continue to improve.”
Leading the way for the Fillies was Emery Driskel, who racked up 31 kills, 13 blocks, five aces and two assists.
Others who shined were:
— Addie Haar, 16 kills, seven aces, seven digs and two blocks.
— Ashlie Shields, 12 kills and two blocks.
— Emma Piazza, eight kills, 22 assists, seven aces, five digs and three blocks.
— Mikaela Platt, 10 kills and two blocks.
— Kyra Moore, two kills, 43 assists, five aces, four digs and four blocks.
— Allie Cleaver, one assist, two aces and seven digs.
— Emma Sigg, four digs.
— Karlie Lower, one ace.
“I thought Mikaela and Ashlie really did a nice job for us,” Coach Sigg said. “They really haven’t played a lot of varsity experience, and made some big plays.”
Iola returns to action Saturday at a tournament in Pittsburg.
Iola Invitational
Pool play
Iola def. Prairie View 2-0 (25-20, 25-16)
Labette Co. def. Pittsburg, 2-0 (25-17, 25-21).
Labette Co. def. Iola, 2-0 (25-19, 25-21).
Pittsburg def. Prairie View, 2-0 (25-19, 25-18).
Iola def. Pittsburg, 2-0 (25-20, 25-23).
Prairie View def. Labette Co., 2-1 (13-25, 25-17, 25-21).
Anderson Co. def. Parsons, 2-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-19).
Burlington def. Caney Valley, 2-0 (25-3, 25-4).
Anderson Co. def. Caney Valley, 2-0 (25-9, 25-12).
Burlington def. Parsons, 2-0 (25-8, 25-15).
Burlington def. Anderson Co., 2-0 (25-13, 27-25).
Parsons def. Caney Valley, 2-0 (25-11, 25-21).
Semifinals
Burlington def. Iola, 2-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-14).
Anderson Co. def. Labette Co., 2-0 (25-16, 25-19).
Third place game
Iola def. Labette Co., 2-0 (25-21, 25-8).
Championship
Burlington def. Anderson Co., 2-0 (25-23, 25-11)