Iola Middle School’s seventh-graders wrapped up their volleyball season with a 2-3 mark at the IMS Net Games volleyball tournament.
The Ponies dropped a 25-20, 25-16 decision to Parsons, rebounded to defeat Marmaton Valley Junior High, 23-25, 25-19, 15-10, fell to Independence, 25-23, 25-17, knocked off Pittsburg, 25-20, 25-21, and fell to Royster of Chanute, 25-9, 18-25, 15-10.
“Teamwork is something we try to stress every year and we struggled with that today,” seventh-grade coach Stacy Sprague said.
Still, she was proud of her team’s accomplishments. The team ended the season with an 8-7 record.
“Seventh-grade volleyball is such a stepping stone for girls,” she noted. “It is the first time for some to play organized, competitive volleyball. I was fortunate to have a couple players with a lot of experience this year and it made a tremendous difference in our play on the court. I look forward to watching these girls play next year and in high school.”
The Ponies registered a collective 77 percent serve percentage. Individually, Jayden Jackson served at a 60 percent clip, Kendra Sprague at 63 percent, Piper Moore at 93 percent, Madisyn Holloway at 56 percent, Shaylee Sutterby at 56 percent and Mia Aronson at 96 percent.
Jackson had four aces, Sprague and Aronson with three apiece, Moore with two and Sutterby with one.
Moore led the team with 20 hits, followed by Sprague with 12, Holloway six, Sutterby and Aronson four apiece and Jackson with one.
The IMS eighth-graders wrap up their 2013 season today with a quadrangular meet in Chanute.
MARMATON VALLEY, meanwhile, went 1-4 on the day.
In addition to the loss to Iola, the Wildcats fell 27-25, 25-9 to Royster, defeated Pittsburg 25-20, 25-16, and fell to Parsons, 25-20, 25-15, and to Independence, 25-9, 25-14.
Patricia Outlan led Marmaton Valley with 28 points on the day. Kari Shadden added 22.
“It’s always good to come to this tournament, so we can test ourselves against the larger schools,” Marmaton Valley coach Gavin Cole said. “We fought hard and learned a lot about ourselves today.”
