ST. LOUIS — Splitting their final non-conference matches on Saturday, the upstart Labette Cardinals beat St. Louis in four sets before suffering a surprise three-set loss to East Central on Saturday.
The Cardinals were without star outside hitter Allie Rushing, who suffered an ankle injury on Friday in practice. Rushing is among the top 15 in the nation in total kills.
“Allie rolled her ankle on Friday morning, so she didn’t play at all,” Labette head coach Deardin Kelley said. “So we ran with a completely different lineup. But I’m not going to sit here and say that’s the reason we played badly. We had some kids that rose to the occasion and some that didn’t. They didn’t take the opportunity.”
Against St. Louis, Labette won, 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-17).
Jordyn Drayton led the Cardinals with 18 kills while setter Amelia Oliver added 10 to ago along with 13 assists.
Charlotte Watson tallied 21 assists, Evyn Morrow had 20 digs and Iniya Hinman had three blocks.
Against East Central, which Labette swept a week ago at home, the Cardinals fell, 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-23).
“Allie is one person. I understand she’s a big part of our offense, but it was a failure of mentality on our part,” Kelley said. “Our girls’ first go-to was anger instead of troubleshooting. Our mentality was our biggest issue on Saturday.”
Drayton had 11 kills while Hinman pitched in 10. Watson notched 14 assists while Morrow had 16 digs. Olivia Brand added 15 digs.
Saturday’s split moved Labette’s record to 21-19 overall, guaranteeing the Cardinals’ first winning season in school history.
Up next
The Cardinals host Coffeyville on Wednesday. The winner of the match will secure the final seed in the postseason, with the loser going home. A playoff berth for Labette would be the school’s first since 2014.
“They’re really scrappy and a team you have to respect,” Kelley said. “They’re high energy. I know it’s going to be a good game and we can’t take it lightly no matter how our athletes match up. We’re in the gym going as hard as we can. We know if we don’t win, we’re done. I’m praying my girls want it as badly as us coaches do.”
Kelley added that Rushing, who was a full participant in practice on Sunday night, will play.
“She’s fine,” Kelley said. “She just rolled it. She had a full practice on Sunday. She was bouncing around the gym. We just didn’t want to risk it in a non-conference game.”
