INDEPENDENCE — Chanute stayed undefeated while the Labette County Grizzlies split a pair of matches at an SEK League volleyball quad in Independence on Tuesday.
Labette County sweeps Fort Scott
Taking care of their first match of the night, the Grizzlies took down the Fort Scott Tigers, 2-0 (26-24, 25-20).
“We knew Fort Scott would be a tough match and they’ve gotten better,” Labette County head coach Leigh Ann Phillips said. “They switched their lineup around. And we didn’t come out with the energy I wanted to see. We couldn’t get on a roll. But we put the ball away when we needed to, scored the points and came out with a win.”
Stats for Labette County were unavailable at press time.
Amery Baker, the do-it-all senior for the Grizzlies, had a slew of kills as Labette County’s setters were able to give her clean balls in opportune moments.
“Our setters are doing a better job of spreading the floor,” Phillips said. “In order to give Amery good opportunities, we have to pull blockers off of her. In the clutch, we have to go to Amery. So being able to use other people to put the ball away gives Amery those opportunities.”
Chanute gets by Grizzlies Chanute swept Labette County in the Blue Comets’ first match of the night, 2-0 (25-14, 25-12).
“They play a really clean game and don’t get in their heads,” Phillips said. “We went point-for-point with them early in the first set and then Chanute took off. They’re always moving and reading balls and making great passes.”
Baker tallied six kills for the Grizzlies. Malaya Broadwell had 16 digs while Baker added five assists.
Addy Hughes paced the Blue Comets with seven kills while Brynna Peter and Josey Henson each added five.
Chanute setter Presley Henson impressed throughout the night.
“What stood out was our setter, Presley,” Chanute head coach Jory Murry said. “She had some good swings on balls. She was backpedaling on some of her sets and still had great control. She doesn’t get the credit she deserves. Some of these girls have only ever had her as their setter and they don’t know how good they have it. Presley was in control tonight.”
Blue Comets blowout Indy In a 2-0 (25-13, 25-15) win over the Independence Bulldogs, Chanute’s Hughes racked up 11 kills while Josey Henson added six in a dominant victory.
However, Murry was critical of the Blue Comets’ defense.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re locked in on serve-receive,” Murry said. “We got caught on our heels a little bit tonight. We have to have a good first ball everytime.”
Up next
Chanute, the lone undefeated team in the 4A East standings with a 22-0 mark, hosts a tournament on Saturday.
“We’re not trying to look too far ahead,” Murry said. “We just focus on what’s next. Right now, we’re looking to Saturday with our home tournament. We’re excited to potentially play McPherson. They only have a few losses, so that’d be a really good test for us. We want to be pushed to see where we’re truly at in the state in Class 4A.”
Labette County, which moved to 8-15 overall on Tuesday, will be in attendance.
“We just need to go in and enjoy what we do and just play,” Phillips said. “We want to have fun and enjoy playing, win, lose or draw.”
