Iola High’s Fillies play at home Saturday. It is the 22nd annual Iola High Invitational volleyball tournament. Iola fans need to pack the house with blue and gold for the Fillies.
Saturday is one of only three home dates on the 2012 volleyball schedule for the Fillies’ varsity. The Fillies will play three matches in pool play starting at 8:30 a.m.
A strong fan base could help them get through pool play and into the semifinals. The Fillies haven’t been in the semifinal bracket of their own tournament for awhile. Fans can provide a little extra boost to the Fillies’ energy on the court and maybe you can get them over the hump.
The Fillies are 1-5 overall and have had a week to work on their game. With very few players with varsity experience back this season, the Fillies are trying to find the right combination of players for the court. New head coach Emily Sigg sees progress and eventually, the hard work will pay off in match wins.
Players are working hard and deserve support from students and other fans at home. Don’t allow visiting teams’ fan base be louder than Iola’s on Saturday.
ALLEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE’s cross country teams are ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division I. The first week of NJCAA Division I Hill N Dale cross country rankings came out this week. The Red Devil squads have competed twice this season, winning at home then placing high at the Wichita State meet last weekend.
In the rankings, Allen’s men and women are No. 2 in their respective divisions. Iowa Central Community College is first in both polls.
SPEAKING OF CROSS COUNTRY, the Iola High Doc Stiles Invitational is Sept. 18. The annual meet has been moved from Iola’s Riverside Park to the campus of Allen Community College.
IHS head coach Marvin Smith announced this week there will be an “all-comers” run before the high school races on that Tuesday. The run starts at 3:45 p.m.
“We wanted to give the schools with middle school runners a chance to compete at our meet this year. But the race is also for anyone who wants to come out and run,” Smith said. “They can run a mile or two miles. There is no entry fee and no medals given for the race.”
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS will be on the Iola High Mustangs in Osawatomie this week. The Mustangs have their first road game of the season and it’s the first Pioneer League contest for the Mustangs.
Not since 2009 have Iola and Osawatomie played each other on the football field. The Trojans then swept the two-game series (2008 and 2009) with the Mustangs.
But that was then and this is now. The 2012 Mustang seniors were freshmen the last time the schools played. Both programs have new coaches and there’s a little more on the line this time.
Iola and Osawatomie are going after a league victory Friday night. Iola joined Osawatomie in the Pioneer League this year.
The Mustangs are 1-0 and the Trojans are 0-1 — they lost 39-26 to Neodesha last Friday night. Mustang head coach Doug Kerr expects the Trojans to come out ready to claim a victory at home after losing opener there.
“We worked hard this week on getting the kids focused again after the win. We’re excited to open the season with a victory but we had to come back down and focus on Osawatomie this week,” Kerr said.
