An aggressive Iola High Fillies team took down Fort Scott in the first round of the 4A Substate Tournament Saturday at home, but they couldn’t overcome the top-ranked Chanute.
“I’ve been preaching aggressive, aggressive, don’t play it safe,” Coach Amanda Strickler-Holman said. “All six on the floor were aggressive. This was a team effort.”
“This is the best season we’ve had in a very long time, especially during my four years here. This is a great group of girls. We made it competitive and we made it fun.”
The Fillies started strong against Fort Scott, at one point building a 15-8 lead in the first set. The Tigers came back to win 25-20.
Iola then made short work of the Tigers, winning the next set 25-15.
It looked as if the Tigers might take the final set, building a substantial lead. But the Fillies regrouped and came back to tie the game at 22.
“That’s what we’ve been working on, being aggressive, especially in scenarios of 22 and 22 and finish,” coach
Becca Sprague led the way with 18 kills, followed by Veronica Agostini with seven and Lauryn Holloway with four.
Holloway had four blocks — two solo, while Agostini and Sprague led the way with 14 and seven assists, respectively.
Agostini had a team-high 23 digs, followed close behind by Hannah Gardner with 19, Sprague with 18, Holloway with 17 and Jenna Curry with 12.
The Fillies won 25-22 and advanced the next round against Chanute.
The Comets and Fillies traded points to start the set, until Chanute pulled away with 13 unanswered points to win 25-12.
The second set looked like a repeat of the first, with the Fillies keeping it close until Chanute ran the board to win 25-13.
Strickler-Holman gave a lot of credit to the Comets’ libero, Sabry Trout.
“She reads the floor very very well and they know how to use her. They give everything to her and I’m not sure she made one mistake tonight.”
In the loss to Chanute, Sprague delivered eight kills and 11 digs, while Holloway and Agostini each had aces. Curry blocked a shot; Holloway and Curry had nine and six digs, respectively.
