Hosting the final leg of the first round of SEK League matches on Tuesday, the Parsons Vikings lost to Pittsburg but ended the night with a sweep of rival Labette County.
“I’m so happy for my girls for that win at the end,” Parsons head coach Dara Barr-Miller said. “We’ve had so many close matches this season. We’ve probably had seven sets that are 25-23, something like that. I want them to use this momentum from tonight into the rest of the season.”
Tuesday’s quad opened with Pittsburg defeating Coffeyville, 2-0 (25-16, 25-22).
Pittsburg then beat Parsons, 2-0 (25-20, 25-15).
Ayanna Robertson led Parsons with six kills in the match while adding two blocks. Braelyn Hinman- MItchell added five kills.
“Our struggle this season has been coming out hot and then not finishing,” Barr-Miller said. “We knew coming into the game that they were going to tip the ball, and they were still able to. We didn’t stick to our gameplan. We’ve got some new faces on the court right now, so we’re still working on that comfort with the person next to them. Pittsburg did what they thought they would do and they still executed.”
Labette County then got swept by Coffeyville, 2-0 (25-15, 25-11).
“We have to figure out how to put a complete match together,” Labette County head coach Leigh Ann Phillips said. “We have too many missed serves. Even when we’re doing what we need to do at the net, our passing isn’t there. The energy isn’t there. Those are things that are hard to make the girls do. We’re choosing to not do them, mentally. They have the skills. They’re just not engaged.”
The night’s action ended with Parsons sweeping Labette County, 2-0 (25-23, 25-20).
“We weren’t getting our passes and hits where we needed them to go,” Phillips said. “That’s not who we are. Generally, we want to get teams out of system, but we took ourselves out of system by not attacking well.”
Keeping rallies going was a point of emphasis for the Vikings.
“I’ve wanted the girls to play smart volleyball all season, and that’s what we did,” Barr-Miller said. “We want to put balls where it’s difficult for the defense to get to. We didn’t play a clean first set against them. But we found a way to keep putting balls where they couldn’t get them.”
Hinman-Mitchell paced the Vikings with six kills and two blocks in the win.
“She played great tonight and that’s who she is,” Barr-Miller said. “She finishes points. At the start of the year, she hasn’t had as many opportunities. Tonight, we got the ball in her hands. Anytime you can do that, it’s good.”
Labette County fell to 6-13 overall and 1-5 in SEK League action.
“Our mental toughness needs to shift,” Phillips said. “We have to hustle from Point 0 to Point 25. Sometimes, we’re going 50% or 30% instead of going 100% from end to end. It’s hard to trust your teammate when you don’t know if they’re going for the ball or not. Then you have miscommunications and it tumbles into a big mess. That’s what we need to work on.”
Parsons also moved to 6-13 overall and 3-3 in league play.
“We’re not in a bad position,” Barr-Miller said. “Do I want this record? No. But I feel like we’re very close to turning around. We’re right there. I think we can pile on some wins in the second half of the season. Maybe we’ll fall somewhere in sub-state and teams won’t expect us. I don’t mind being in that position.”
