Iola High’s Fillies want to start a new trend Saturday. The past two seasons, the Fillies haven’t made it out of pool play at the annual Iola High Invitational.
Iola’s goal is to change that at the 2011 edition of the volleyball tournament.
The 21st Iola High Invitational begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the high school. There are two four-team pools.
The top two teams in each pool advance to bracket play. Winners in the semifinal bracket will play for the championship while the losers play in the third-place match Saturday afternoon.
Admission to the tournament is $5 for adults and $4 for students.
“Our goal is to win the tournament but first we have to get through pool play and make it into bracket play,” said Jodi Grover, Fillies’ head coach.
“We want to pick our game up. We see Prairie View again in our pool and we want to be competitive against the SEK teams in the tournament.”
Prairie View, which is out of the Pioneer League, is a new team in the tournament mix. The Buffalos take the place of Humboldt High’s Lady Cubs.
Pittsburg High’s Purple Dragons are out to defend their 2010 championship. Anderson County High’s Lady Bulldogs, who have won the tournament 15 times in its 20-year run, return after getting beaten by Pittsburg in the final last year.
Pittsburg and Labette County are Southeast Kansas League teams. Anderson County and Prairie View are out of the Pioneer League, which is the league Iola switches to next year. Burlington, Caney Valley and Cherryvale are from the Tri-Valley League.
“I want the girls to enjoy playing at home and enjoy playing the game of volleyball this weekend,” Grover said. “Things haven’t gone as well to start the season and we just need to have some fun playing.”
The Fillies open tournament pool play at 8:30 against Anderson County. Burlington takes on Labette County in the other pool to begin the day.
Pool matches continue through the morning. Bracket play begins after a short break following pool play.
The championship trophy and team medals will be presented immediately following the championship match.
Iola High Invitational
Pool Play
North Court
Iola vs. Anderson County
Prairie View vs. Caney Valley
Iola vs. Prairie View
Anderson County vs. Caney Valley
Iola vs. Caney Valley
Anderson County vs. Prairie View
South Court
Burlington vs. Labette County
Pittsburg vs. Cherryvale
Burlington vs. Pittsburg
Labette County vs. Cherryvale
Burlington vs. Cherryvale
Pittsburg vs. Labette County
