IMS volleyball squad earns road splits

PITTSBURG — Iola Middle School’s volleyball teams picked up road splits Thursday.
The IMS eighth-graders fell to Pittsburg, 25-11, 25-19 in A team action. The B team went three sets before prevailing, 26-24, 18-25, 15-20.
The seventh-grade A team won 25-18, 24-26, 15-8, while the B team fell 25-14, 25-20.
Both Iola coaches said their teams showed improvement.
In the eighth-grade A team contest, Pittsburg scored 12 points in a row to take control of the first set.
“Most of these points were scored off their strong serves,” eighth-grade coach Terri Carlin said. “We had a bad passing night.”
Pittsburg jumped to an early nine-point lead in the second set before Iola responded.
“We played much better in the second set,” Carlin said. “We came back tougher and passed the ball much better. This allowed us to be able to set the ball and get some hits to score some points.”
Scout Rush had three ace serves and three kills, followed by Colbi Riley with three ace serves and two kills. Katie Bauer also had two kills, Sophie Whitney chipped in with two aces and an assist. Madison Carlin had three assists.
Carlin said the B team has begun to work well together.
“Chloe Wilson had a great game with several great passes and hits,” Carlin said. “Sophie Whitney and Olivia Taylor continue to cover much of the court. Macayla Bycroft did a great job making some saves at the net. Emily Mollins had one of her best games in making some great plays.”

THE seventh-grade A team victory was keyed by the team’s improved serving, head coach Stacy Sprague said.
Iola served at an 80 percent clip. Jayden Jackson led the way with 11-for-12 serving with an ace. Piper Moore racked up four saves while serving at 87 percent. Mia Aronson was 4-for-4 on serves. Madisyn Hollow was 9 of 11.
“Macie Martin came in with two big serves,” Sprague said. “Our biggest challenge is a rotation in which we lost several points with poor passing and communication.”
Martin was a perfect 8-for-8 in the B team defeat, Sprague said. “She changed the pace of the first game. The girls are improving with their passing.”
Thursday’s games started a whirlwind stretch for IMS. The teams will be at Burlington today for a tournament before matches Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.