Tuesday may have resulted in two Pioneer League defeats for the Iola High volleyball team, but the Fillies were in contention for every set.
Iola fell to Wellsville by a score of 18-25 in both sets, and after taking the first set against Osawatomie, the Fillies hit a cold streak and the Trojans propelled in three sets.
We have a lot of moments, but we have to put those moments together, head coach Amanda Strickler said.
In the first match of the evening against Wellsville, Jenna Curry led the Fillies with four kills, while Ally Ellis contributed four assists, and Hannah Gardner provided seven digs. After the loss to Wellsville, the Fillies had an hour break before continuing the second half of Tuesdays doubleheader.
Iola came out with a purpose in their second match against Osawatomie to earn their first set win on the day. Despite the strong start, the Fillies slumped in the second set as Osawatomie jumped out to a 9-0 lead. Although the Fillies were down, they werent out. Iola got themselves back in the game, and even had an 18-13 lead at one point. But some controversy on the scoreboard saw a point magically disappear, and Osawatomie punched back to take set two, and ultimately the final set.
Jenna Curry served five aces, Lauryn Holloway led the attack with seven kills along with a block plus 11 digs, Chloe Sell managed the backline with 10 assists, and Hannah Gardner pitched in 11 digs. Although the Fillies dropped a tight match against Osawatomie, the comeback in the second set showed a lot about this teams will to push through adversity.
That second set showed me a lot, Strickler said. There is so much good that we do, we just have to put it all together and limit the other teams runs. Consistency is our biggest problem right now, but if we can become consistent, we will take these hard-fought losses into wins.
It didnt help that Iola was down a dominant hitter in Becca Sprague, who injured her ankle at the tailend of Mondays practice. Theres no timetable as to when on when Sprague will return, but the Fillies hope her duties could be available for their next match away at Burlington next Tuesday.
MORE VOLLEYBALL
Humboldt
The Lady Cubs went 1-1 on Tuesday evening. Humboldt was victorious in their match against Cherryvale in two sets, but on the losing side of things versus Baxter Springs. The Lady Cubs did receive a boost in the attack with the return of Jada Dangerfield, who picked up 10 kills in their match against Baxter Springs. Emma Johnson provided nine digs on the day. Her sister, Alayna set up her teammates with 20 assists and Jessica Myers accumulated 15 kills.
I thought we played great most of the night. In each set we had a moment when we lost our focus and let each team go on a run, head coach Terry Meadows said. That really hurt us in the Baxter game. Having Jada back was nice. Now we have to get used to the new system”
Marmaton Valley
The Wildcats went 2-1 on Tuesday, winning matches against Pleasanton and Jayhawk-Linn, but dropping the final match versus Oswego. Bailey Griffith was superb for the Wildcats, picking up 24 kills and nine blocks on the day. Griffith was complimented by Aly Ard in attack, who had 14 kills.
We have been talking about effort and competing, head coach Terra Kegler said. The girls definitely did that tonight with our first league matches of the year. Theyre learning to trust each other and things are starting to click.
