GARNETT — Things were looking good early for Iola High on the volleyball court Saturday.
The Mustangs exploded out of the gate, dominating Oskaloosa to the tune of 25-2 and 25-10 to open the Anderson County Invitational.
Then after a 25-20 setback in the first set against the host Anderson County Bulldogs, Iola bounced back nicely to prevail, 25-18 and 25-11 in sets 2 and 3.
But the tide turned from there.
Iola dropped a 25-15 and 25-21 decision to Paola to secure the second seed in its side of the bracket as the action hit the medal round.
There, Iola fell to Prairie View, 25-19, 24-26 and 25-18, setting up a rematch with Paola in the third-place match.
Paola looked to have things in control early, 25-10, but Iola gave it a run in the second set before falling, 28-26.
“It was a strong start and a disappointing ending,” Iola head coach Amanda Holman said. “I think we started feeling the fatigue of the week in bracket play.”
On top of Saturday’s tournament, Iola was in Garnett Tuesday for matches against Anderson County and Burlington, then trekked to LaCygne for a triangular with Wellsville.
By the time Saturday’s tournament ended, that marked nine matches in a four-day period.
The team’s crispness began to lag as Saturday’s action unfolded, Holman said.
“We started making silly errors we don’t usually make,” she said.
Iola’s one-two front line stalwarts, Alana Mader and Reese Curry, led the way.
Mader racked up 49 kills, 17 blocks, 17 digs and two assists. Curry had 57 kills, six service aces, 48 digs and a block.
Others with a busy tournament: Kaysin Crusinbery had 120 assists, 30 digs, three kills, two blocks and two aces; Dally Curry had 15 kills, nine aces, 39 digs and an assist. Zoie Hesse chipped in with 12 kills, three aces, four blocks, 33 digs and an assist.
