IOLA — Falling in a five-set thriller, the Labette Cardinals lost in KJCCC play to the Allen Red Devils, 3-2 (25-23, 25-21, 25-26, 23-25, 15-12) on Wednesday night.
Errors handicapped Labette’s upset bid all night. The Cardinals committed 31 hitting errors, nine in service and eight in serve-receive.
“It was our errors,” Labette head coach Deardin Kelley said. “We were inefficient. The kills we got were really explosive. The blocks we got were really explosive. But those mental errors in crunch time killed us.”
Wednesday’s tilt was the stereotypical back-and-forth affair that five-set matches demand. Both Labette and Allen held at least three-point leads in the first four sets.
“I felt like we were shaky in the beginning and settled in,” Kelley said. “When the pressure got back on, we got tight instead of trusting what we are capable of doing.”
Alissa Hadzic led Allen with 14 kills while Baylee Belt added a dozen for the Red Devils.
Emma Ferriera was perhaps Labette’s brightest spot.
A freshman out of Texas, Ferriera has replaced frenchwoman Margaux Pique as one of the Cardinals’ middle blockers. Ferriera racked up eight kills and four blocks against Allen.
“I think Emma brings us energy,” Kelley said. “Emma puts a lot of pace behind her ball and plays very well laterally. We need that speed moving forward.”
Parsons native Iniya Hinman added a dozen kills and five blocks as the freshman has become more involved in Labette’s attack lately.
“She’s making herself available,” Kelley said. “That’s the hardest part of her position and she’s starting to do that well.”
Allie Rushing led the Cardinals with 17 kills, albeit coupled with 10 errors. Evyn Morrow amassed 39 digs while Charlotte Watson had 21 assists.
Labette dropped to 20-18 overall and 2-6 in KJCCC play with the loss. Allen improved to 18-11 and 5-3, respectively.
Up next
Had Labette upset Allen, the Cardinals would’ve booked a trip to the postseason for the first time since 2014.
The Cardinals hit the road on Saturday to face St. Louis and East Central.
“We’re focusing on settling in and getting in system a lot more,” Kelley said. “We prepared a lot for trying to outlast Allen. We’ve got to learn to put leads away.”
Then comes the climax of the Cardinals’ campaign — a Wednesday night KJCCC showdown against the Coffeyville Red Ravens in Parsons.
Coffeyville has been enigmatic this fall — the Red Ravens have eye-catching wins against the likes of NEO A&M and eyebrow-raising losses against the likes of Fort Scott.
“Coffeyville is really scrappy,” Kelley said. “They’ve got some junkyard kids. They know they’re going to play the best they can and they want to tire you out. We have to prepare for that.”
The game serves as the regular season finale and sophomore night, with the winner booking a trip to the postseason and the loser going home.
“This is about the development we’ve seen in the kids and the leaps and bounds we’ve made,” Kelley said. “We’re very fortunate to have a 20win season. They have played a bajillion matches in a row with no breaks. None of this was guaranteed. In my head, we’ve had eight matches we could’ve won and 12 we could’ve lost. It’s all about our perseverance. That’s what flipped this program. These kids have made everything worth it. Even though I’ve wanted to go bald quite a few times. They want this playoff berth.”
Nearly an identical scenario played out for Coffeyville last fall when the Red Ravens needed a win, plus a Labette loss, on the final day of the regular season to punch a playoff ticket. Coffeyville got both, sending Labette home.
“Sucks for (Coffeyville) on Wednesday,” Kelley said. “It’s our turn. Our girls, they’re going to get theirs.”
