KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Ending the best season in school history at the home of the Kansas Jayhawk Conference champions, the Labette Cardinals were swept by No. 5 Kansas City Kansas, 3-0 (25-15, 25-8, 25-22) on Wednesday night in the first round of the NJCAA district playoffs.
“KCK is big and balanced and an energy train,” Labette head coach Deardin Kelley said. “Iniya (Hinman) was going point-for-point at the net. But then we weren’t bettering balls. We weren’t being aggressive at the net. We sold a lot of rallies that we could’ve capitalized.”
Labette struggled to mount much offense against one of the best front lines in the nation, registering 17 kills over three sets as a squad.
“Our serve-receive faltered a little bit and our digs weren’t as clean as normal,” Kelley said. “We were always in chaos.”
Hinman, the Parsons native, led Labette with six kills while adding three blocks to her night’s tally.
“She had a big game and was ready,” Kelley said. “She was locked in. With Iniya, she can take control of a game as a freshman. Now I can’t wait for next year.”
Allie Rushing added five kills for the Cardinals. Charlotte Watson notched 12 assists while Dayanara Castillo tallied 13 digs.
Valentina Rolando led Kansas City Kansas with 14 kills while Tatianna Murray added 10.
Veronica Rolando had 29 assists while Ava Rann had 15 digs.
Kansas City Kansas will face Highland, which upset No. 14 Neosho County in its district semifinal, for a district title and an automatic berth to the national tournament.
Labette’s season ends with a 22-20 overall record. The accolades for Labette’s season poured in throughout the fall. The 22 wins mark the winningest season in school history, passing the previous mark of 14.
It was also the first winning season in school history and the first postseason berth since 2014.
“You can be proud and not satisfied at the same time,” Kelley said. “We made strides and cultural changes. But we’re not satisfied with every result we had. We lost too much. Our bench needs more depth. There’s some stuff we need to get control of if we want to be in the middle of the pack of the conference. This conference is hard to play in. Labette is going to have to constantly evolve if we want to compete.”
Looking ahead
Tasked with proving 2025 wasn’t a fluke, Kelley will have to fill eight spots on the roster in the offseason.
“There’s always improvements to be made skill wise,” Kelley said. “We need to tighten up our offense. We need more point-scorers, so we need more depth. There’s nights where somebody won’t produce, and we need other options.”
Rushing is perhaps the most notable loss. A oneyear rental outside, Rushing is in the top 20 in the nation in kills and undoubtedly the best outside hitter the Cardinals have ever had — a bedrock for a program hoping to become consistent contenders in one of the nation’s toughest conferences.
“Allie came in a jumpstarted a position that’s been down for so long at Labette,” Kelley said. “We can’t wait to see where she goes.”
Kelley also admits she feels her inaugural year leading the Cardinals could’ve gone better.
“This year was a little wonky because I inherited a lot of the players. Now, I want this year’s freshmen to be leaders and understand what the program looks like,” Kelley said. “That way, we won’t have so many cultural hiccups along the way.”
Kelley, who’s had three head coaching jobs in as many years, told the Sun she intends to return to Parsons next fall.
“This is the happiest I’ve been in a work environment,” Kelley said. “Labette lets me be my authentic self. I’m loud. I’m opinionated. I demand respect. And here, I can coach more freely. I have not been this happy since I started coaching. I have the resources here. It’s a gamechanger. I love it here. This is the most fun I’ve had coaching volleyball.”
