Playoff bound for the first time since 2014, the Labette Cardinals swept the Coffeyville Red Ravens, 3-0 (2511, 25-17, 25-14) on Wednesday night in a match where the winner booked the final seed in the NJCAA district tournament and the loser’s season ended.
“I just feel at peace,” Labette first-year head coach Deardin Kelley said. “I’m so excited for this moment. But I’m more excited for when this will be the expectation of this program.”
Both squads came in with improved records from a year ago. And both were high variance throughout the fall, showcasing wins over ranked opponents and suffering hairbrained losses.
Labette left no doubt, winning the first set by 16 points before going into cruise control on Sophomore Night.
“It meant so much to my girls,” Kelley said. “They really took it to heart. They wanted this one. It’s been a conversation all week that if we came out flat, we’d see what would happen. We had to earn Coffeyville’s respect. They’re a scrappy team. I guess that resonated.”
Allie Rushing, the one-year rental sophomore for the Cardinals, led her team in kills with eight. Jordyn Drayton added seven.
Charlotte Watson had 11 assists while Amelia Oliver chipped in 10. Evyn Morrow had 14 digs while Iniya Hinman amassed five blocks.
As the ending to the regular season script became clear, Kelley emptied the bench. Every player on the roster appeared in the match and registered a stat — half the team notched at least one kill. Six of the other seven had at least one dig.
It was a Sophomore Night ceremony playing out in real time.
“I loved getting all my sophomores playing time,” Kelley said. “This whole group embraced me with open arms. They’ve always cheered on their teammates. So I wanted to give them a chance at their moment. They needed to know what they meant to this program.”
After the match, as the Cardinals players retreated to the locker room, they dumped Kelley with a water bath in celebration of the program’s winningest season ever, first-ever winning season and first postseason berth in over a decade.
Getting doused served as a final cleansing of Labette’s reputation in volleyball. The decade- plus postseason drought and never having a winning season wasn’t just something Kelley and her assistant, Tessa Newman, inherited — they lived it as an assistant and player, respectively.
“It was freezing,” Kelley said. “My girls continue to surprise me. They had face tattoos. They came into our last practice in bald caps. Even tonight, the other team is warming up and my team is kicking the ball around, playing soccer. They’re having a blast. It’s fun and that’s what you remember from JUCO volleyball. They’re living in the moment. And Labette has been on the receiving end of the wrong moments for so long.”
Wednesday’s regular season finale improved the Cardinals’ record to 22-19 overall and 3-6 in KJCCC play. Coffeyville dipped to 13-24 overall and 1-8 in conference action.
“All glory to those kids. They came in and did the hard work,” Kelley said. “Labette can be something people want to be a part of. It’s not going to be a school you go to if you just want to be a college volleyball player. You have to earn it to be a part of the culture.”
Up next
Labette will be the No. 8 and final seed getting a berth to the NJCAA district tournament, which is split into two brackets of four teams.
The Cardinals will face KJCCC co-champion Kansas City Kansas, the top overall seed, in the first round.
“They’re big and balanced. But volleyball can be a true David and Goliath,” Kelley said. “At any point in time, somebody can get upset. We have to lock in to our specific skills. Because KCK will do KCK. If we’re struggling to execute Labette, we’re not going to compete.”
Kelley didn’t rule out going off-script to find a creative solution to pull a massive upset.“ I’m not sure, yet,” Kelley said. “My gut answer is to take an honest crack. But we might have something we throw in. I leave my bolder decisions for game time and in the moment. For the most part, we just try to stay consistent and solid.”
Labette and Kansas City Kansas will play on Wednesday in Kansas City. The winner of that match will play the winner of Neosho County- Highland for the district title and a berth to the national tournament.
Labette Cardinals head coach Deardin Kelley is dumped with water by her players in the locker room after Wednesday night’s win over the Coffeyville Red Ravens, a win that secured the Cardinals’ first postseason berth in 11 years. Sean Frye/Sun photo
