The Iola Fillies knew going into the season that they were going to need their underclassmen to step up to make an improvement over last season’s record and that is just what they got from sophomore Piper Moore.
Moore led the Fillies in both kills and assists and spear-headed a campaign that saw Iola more than double its win total from 2015.
The Fillies and Moore were able to accomplish hiese feats while playing in one of the toughest leagues in Kansas with state-ranked teams like Wellsville, Santa Fe Trail and Burlington to contend with on a weekly basis.
“Even as a sophomore, Piper really led our team,” Iola coach Jeff Fehr said. “She led in pretty much every category and we depended on her a lot.”
The Fillies and Moore were able to accomplish these feats while playing in one of the toughest leagues in Kansas with state-ranked teams like Wellsville, Santa Fe Trail and Burlington to contend with on a weekly basis.
“The all-league team was really dominated by those teams,” Fehr said. “The first team was Wellsville and Santa Fe Trail with their power hitters… Our league had a lot of good teams and players, so just to get somebody in is great.”
With senior stalwarts like Riley Murry, Sydney Wade, Jadyn Sigg and Toni Macha graduating this year, Moore will be asked to embrace an even larger leadership role next season.
“Next year, we will depend on Piper even more, because she will have more experience than our seniors will have next year,” Fehr said.
Moore and returning senior-to-be starters Katie Bauer and Colbi Riley will be tasked with leading a team that will feature a lot of faces without much varsity experience, but Fehr is confident that with Moore as a go-to option the Fillies will continue to make strides.
“We are going to try and get her the ball a little bit more consistently,” Fehr said. “We will work some of our younger players up to help set and we will hope to give Piper the opportunity to show what she can really do.”
