First-year head coach Kelley guides Cardinals to most wins ever just halfway through season
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Halfway through the volleyball season, the Labette Cardinals are already better than ever.
With three wins at the KCK Tournament over the weekend, the Cardinals reached 16 wins. That mark is the best in school history for a single season.
“It was an expectation for myself and the girls. But it’s still something that deserves to be celebrated,” Labette first-year head coach Deardin Kelley said. “The girls in here could’ve fallen through the wayside like normal. But they rose to the occasion.”
The previous mark for the winningest year for Labette was 2017, when the Cardinals registered a 14-22 record. Right now, Labette is 16-9.
The Cardinals won three of their four matches in Kansas City, defeating Park JV, Southwestern and previously undefeated Morton while falling to No. 9 Iowa Central.
“This was a hard week for us with so many games and they responded really well,” Kelley said. “We had some lineup changes and the energy was good. I was proud to see some of the things start to click.”
Against Park, Labette won, 3-1 (16-25, 25-23, 25-18, 2517). Allie Rushing and Jordyn Drayton each led with a dozen kills.
Amelia Oliver tallied 20 assists, Daynara Castillo racked up 20 digs and Iniya Hinman had five blocks.
“Park is a really strong program that has a very strong reserve team, so that was a good win,” Kelley said.
Labette wrapped up its Friday action with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-20) win over Southwestern.
Drayton had 11 kills, Charlotte Watson had 21 assists, Castillo had 17 digs and Hinman had three blocks.
“Last time we played them, we dropped a set,” Kelley said. “We took care of business to close it out in three.”
The Cardinals opened Saturday with a 3-1 (25-18, 2518, 18-25, 25-9) loss to No. 9 Iowa Central.
Rushing led Labette with 11 kills, Watson had 18 assists, Castillo had 20 digs and Hinman notched four blocks.
“They’re a solid team and we took a set off of them,” Kelley said. “But instead of lighting on fire, we went on coast mode. We were playing the No. 9 team in the country and they don’t give anything to you. The girls understood that. And we struggled to get our footing.”
Punctuating the weekend, Labette swept Morton, which came into the weekend undefeated, 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 2515).
Rushing etched eight kills with Aubrianna Brown adding seven. Rushing also led with 12 digs. Watson had 19 assists and Oliver had four blocks.
“We were just an energy train,” Kelley said. “Once we got started, they couldn’t stop us. Everything went right. We were sound offensively. We overtook them and had more weapons.”
Up next
Labette enters a critical juncture over the next two weeks. The Cardinals faced Seminole State on Monday in a rematch of a season opener Labette lost, 3-0. Labette then hosts Fort Scott in KJCCC play on Wednesday.
The Cardinals travel to Illinois for a tournament over the weekend before hosting Neosho County on Oct. 1 in a match that will either preserve or eliminate Labette’s chances at a top-five seed in postseason play.
“This is the hardest two weeks of the season,” Kelley said. “We’re focusing on recovery, watching film and having intentional practices so you don’t waste reps.”
