SALINA — For the first time in Iola High Fillies volleyball history, the team placed at the state tournament. Iola took fourth at the Class 4A-II State Volleyball Tournament Saturday afternoon.
The team ended the season with two losses, which was bitter for the team to accept after accomplishing so much during the season.
“It would have been nice to end on a win and it’s hard for them because they wanted to end on a win,” coach Emily Sigg said. “But, we got fourth and Iola has never done that in state volleyball. They need to be proud of what they did and what they accomplished during the season. It’s just hard to do that when you end the season on a loss.”
Saturday was the last time seniors Emma Piazza, Kyra Moore, Katie Shields, Addie Haar and Emery Driskel suited up for Fillies volleyball.
“They were awesome across the board,” Sigg said. “They’re true athletes.”
The day started off with a loss to Baldwin in the semifinals.
In the first set, Iola struggled to get anything going in a 25-11 loss. The Bulldogs took a quick 5-0 lead and never looked back.
Iola scored two points in a row only twice during the set.
Baldwin started the second set with an 8-2 advantage, but the Fillies fought hard to get back in it. Down 20-12, Iola outscored the Bulldogs 8-5 in the final 13 points. But, Baldwin only needed five points to get the win, 25-20.
Driskel and Haar each had five kills, while Haar had the team’s lone ace.
Piazza struggled with only one kill, but led the Fillies with 10 assists.
Moore had two kills and three assists. Mikaela Platt had a kill and an assist.
The Fillies gave it their all in the next match against Hoyt-Royal Valley, but came out on the wrong side of a win.
Iola started the first set up 6-3, but gave up the lead. This match went point-for-point and saw the game tied 16-16. The Panthers took a 23-19 lead, but Iola didn’t let up, bringing it back to a two-point game at 24-22 before losing the last point.
Iola lost the second set, 25-22. Iola started with a 10-5 advantage, but couldn’t expand the lead. The Panthers edged closer with a three-point rally. The Fillies had a 16-13 lead, but Royal Valley had another three-point rally to tie the game. The Panthers took the lead 19-18, before going on to win.
Haar and Driskel each had nine kills, this time with Driskel adding an ace. Moore led the Fillies with 12 assists and had two kills. Piazza had a kill and six assists. Platt had an ace and Sydney Wade had a kill.
Although the team ended the season with a loss, their fourth place finish was a win for the program and season, Sigg said.
Iola placed in volleyball for the first time in the program’s history
