On Tuesday night, Allen County schools either played their final regular season matches or competed in regional action. Here is how each team fared:
Iola
The Fillies hosted Prairie View and Anderson County to wrap up regular season play. Iola dominated their first match against the Buffalos, winning in two sets, 25-15 and 25-22. Hannah Gardner provided six aces, and Becca Sprague pounded home six kills to lead the Fillies scoring. Chloe Sell set up her Fillie teammates throughout the match with a team-high six assists. Along with a superb serving performance, Gardner managed the back row with 10 digs.
Iola failed to win a set against Anderson County, dropping both sets 13-25 and 13-25. Sprague had three kills, and Elysia Kunkler made the jump from JV once again to showcase her athleticism by chipping in four blocks.
On Saturday, Iola will be in Independence for sub-state action at 1 p.m. The Fillies hold the 17th seed, and face 18 seed Kansas City-Piper for a play-in match to take on number-one seed Independence. Iola has shown bright spots during the season, but will need to display consistency in order to make a run. Head coach Amanda Strickler is optimistic her squad littered with underclassmen can make noise at sub-state.
We have gotten so much better from the beginning of the year, it is just the little things holding us back, Strickler said. Any success we have on Saturday is only building us for next season. Out of the eight I carry on varsity, seven are returning for next season. My expectations for Saturday are to go in, own it, have some fun. We are the team with the least amount of stress.
Humboldt
The Lady Cubs salvaged two wins on Tuesday night to finish 4-3 in league play. Humboldt won its first match against Bluestem in three sets by scores of 25-19, 24-26, and 25-11. Alayna Johnson provided the assists with a team-high 17, and sister Emma filled her libero role per usual by chipping in seven digs. Jada Dangerfield and Jessica Myers led the Lady Cub attack, combining for 26 kills.
The second match versus Fredonia also took three sets for the Lady Cubs to pull out the victory. Humboldt won the first set comfortably 25-11, but dropped a tightly contested second set 32-30. The Lady Cubs rallied in the third set for the 25-10 victory. Alayna set up her Lady Cub teammates smoothly with 18 assists, and Myers along with Dangerfield converted Alaynas passes efficiently by combining for 22 kills.
The Lady Cubs will have their sub-state tournament this Saturday in Fredonia.
Marmaton Valley
Tuesday night was the end of the road for the Wildcats after a loss to Chetopa eliminated any chance of them advancing to sub-state. Marmaton Valley rallied for a win in their first match against Crest, winning both sets by scores of 25-17 and 25-23. Bailey Griffith headlined for Marmaton Valley on the stat sheet, providing 13 kills along with two blocks. Marmaton Valley was comfortably handled by Chetopa in two sets in an elimination game, losing in two sets. Griffith excelled in her final match for the Wildcats, picking up six kills and four blocks.
