Fillies fall short in SEK play

INDEPENDENCE — Every sport has numbers which coaches use to evaluate players and teams. In volleyball, coaches look at passing, serve receive proficiency, set and attack attempts versus assists and kills.
But the big number everybody looks at is wins and losses. Iola High’s Fillies were on the road to open Southeast Kansas League volleyball play Thursday and the numbers were not good.
Pittsburg beat Iola 25-12, 28-26 and host Independence handed the Fillies a 25-15, 25-16 setback. The Fillies are 0-2 in SEK action and 5-10 overall.
“I wanted to put the blame on our passing but once I looked at it we were 79 percent on serve receive against Pittsburg and 80 percent against Independence,” said Jodi Grover, Fillies’ head coach.
“Volleyball is a game about staying within a certain range of highs and lows. Well, we had our lows (Thursday night). We were hit and miss on coverage, communication and pursing the ball.”
Kendra Taiclet put down 12 kills for the Fillies over the two matches with a solo block at the net. Riana Dolenz had six kills and Toni Taylor had three kills.
Kelsey Larson delivered four kills and had a solo block. Kirstin McGuffin hit one kill. Taylor was credited with 13 set assists and Larson had nine assists.
McGuffin and Keli Lee each had three digs defensively. Larson, Taiclet, Taylor and Dolenz each had two digs. Larson served four aces.
Grover said the Fillies gave too many points away from those “dumb stuff” moments.
“I’m really proud of the passing percentage. Two nights this week we have been above 70 percent after being under 40 percent serve receive earlier in the season,” Grover said.
“Baby steps. We need to work on our communication. It’s time these girls play to their potential.”
Iola’s junior varsity dropped two decisions 25-9, 25-16 to Pittsburg and 27-25, 25-15 to Independence.
Tori Snavely put up 11 set assists and served an ace for the Fillies. Katie Thompson led the net attack with six kills and two solo blocks. Libby Shay had five kills and a block. Emma Sigg had two kills at the net and served two aces. Essence Owens, Alyssa Zimmerman, Celeste Ambrose and Hannah Barclay each had one kill.
Barclay had a solo  block. Paige Miller served an ace. Thompson had eight digs, Sigg had seven digs, Shay had six digs, Zimmerman had five digs and Owens had four digs. Snavely made three digs and Ambrose had two digs.
“Our intensity was low in the Pittsburg match and we gave them most of their points off our errors. The intensity was better against Independence and we had the lead in the first game but couldn’t hang on,” said Casey Greenwood, Iola assistant coach.