The Iola Mustangs showed their potential while taking third at Saturday’s Iola High School Volleyball Tournament.
After cruising through pool play undefeated, the Mustangs wrapped up the tournament by splitting with a pair of Pioneer League foes — falling to the Burlington Wildcats in the semifinals 25-15, 25-17, then sweeping the Anderson County Bulldogs in the consolation finals 25-21, 25-20 for third place.
“Some of it built our confidence and the areas that it didn’t give us something to work on, so I feel pretty good moving forward,” Iola assistant coach Ally Alarid said.
Before Saturday, the Mustangs had been the stables for nearly two weeks. Their last action came during their 1-3 run at the Wellsville High School Volleyball Tournament in late August. Iola seemed to suffer a bit of ring rust while falling to the Parsons Vikings in the opening set of the opening round of pool play 30-28 in extra sets. After suffering an early blow, the Mustangs returned to their feet to take the next two sets 25-15 and 25-17.
Iola cruised to victory with sweeps of the Crest Lady Lancers 25-10, 25-19, and Field Kindley Golden Tornadoes 25-20. 25-19, then the Labette County Grizzlies 25-14, 25-18 to exit pool play undefeated.
The Mustangs hit their first bout of adversity with a semifinal loss to Burlington, who later swept Parsons 29-27 and 25-15 for the tournament championship.
“You could feel the energy, and when Anderson County lost to Parsons that light went on in our brains — use this to your advantage,” Iola senior Dally Curry said. “And just because we lost doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep playing hard, fight, and win the next one.”
Against Anderson County, an ace by sophomore outside hitter Haidyn Desmarteau, a block by senior middle hitter Zoie Hesse and a kill by senior outside hitter Dally Curry lifted Iola from an early deficit.
Unforced errors by the Bulldogs, as well as a Zoie Hesse kill and an ace by sophomore setter Hannah Thompson gave Iola a 3-point cushion before four consecutive out of bounds shots gave Iola the first set 25-21.
“It shows we’ve made a lot of progress,” Curry said. “Everything we do in practice every day, the summer league and things like that pays off. I’m so proud of my team and the way we mesh together.”
The second set seemed to mirror the first, but this time Iola rallied on Curry kills and a Hesse ace.
A Curry kill and a Desmarteau ace set up match point before a net ball decided the contest. Considering the Mustangs did not make it out of pool play last year, Curry said she can see the dramatic progress the Mustangs have made.
Following Saturday’s tournament, the Mustangs evened their record to 4-4. They return to the court Tuesday for their home triangular, where they will host the Wellsville Eagles and the Osawatomie Trojans with a first serve set for 5 p.m.
Lady Lancers winless but remain hopeful
The Crest Lady Lancers exited the IHS tournament with a few more blemishes on their record.
Entering the tournament as the smallest school in the field, Crest coach Carlyn Crow said she knew the Lady Lancers were in for a challenge but liked how they maintained their composure.
