Tigers fall in tough Sub-State final

OTTAWA -- Fort Scott High School's volleyball season came to an end here Saturday in three hard-fought sets against Southeast Kansas League rival Chanute in the championship match of the Ottawa Class 4A-Division I Sub-State Tournament.

The Blue Comets (26-14) took the final, 16-25, 26-24, 30-28 and advances to State for the third consecutive season. Chanute will be the only representative from the Southeast Kansas League at the State Tournament in Salina this coming weekend.

"The match against Chanute was just a heartbreaker, no better words to describe it," Fort Scott head coach Carol Bingesser said. "It was exactly the way you would want a Sub-State championship match to be played. No team gave up, no team ever stopped believing that they would be the winners. Exceptional play was made from both sides."

Chanute was the No. 1 seed and the only team with a winning record. They took care of host Ottawa, 25-15, 25-23, in the first round.

Fort Scott faced third-seeded Labette County (12-20) in the other first-round match and won 25-19, 25-19.

"The match against LC was very focused. The girls knew that we needed to take of business to continue and we did."

Ashley Cook had 4 kills, 10 assists and 3 aces in the match to lead the Tigers (17-19) in all those areas. Katie Gorman had 17 digs and Jenny Denton had 13. Karlee Stanley handed out 8 assists.

In the final, the Comets got a bit of revenge for a loss to the Tigers at Bishop Miege on October 15 that forced Chanute to settle for a share of SEK title with Pittsburg. Cook had 18 kills, 19 digs, 11 assists and 2 aces for the Tigers. Stanley handed out 11 assists and came up with 13 digs. Gorman had 26 digs.

"For me as a coach it was perfect timing for us," Bingesser said. "We came together on all aspects as a team at the exact day we needed. You work hard all season for this one opportunity and you hope that you have them prepared in every aspect of the game. And we were, it was just unfortunate that the outcome wasn't in our favor. Everyone on our team was a contributor; everyone gave their all."

At least one Southeast Kansas League team reached the finals of the Sub-States to which they were assigned.

At 4A-I in Winfield, Wellington defeated Coffeyville (16-19) in two, 25-18, 25-17, then swept Independence in the final, 25-19, 27-25, to make it to State with a 19-17 record. Independence finished with a record of 27-7.

Parsons (6-25) reached the finals of the Anderson County Class 4A-Division II Sub-State by sweeping second-seeded Prairie View, 25-23, 25-21. But in the final, top-seeded ACHS (29-8) swept the Vikings, 25-13, 25-17.

Pittsburg (26-14) defeated Kansas City-Harmon in the second Class 5A Sub-State at Lenexa St. James, 25-4, 25-12, to reach the final against St. Thomas Aquinas. The defending State champion Saints (29-9) swept the SEK co-champs in the final, 25-15, 25-10.

Chanute will be the No. 6 seed at 4A-I State in Salina. Friday, they'll face third-seeded defending champ Bishop Miege (27-11), second-seeded Louisburg (28-10) and seventh-seeded Andover Central (22-19) in that order in pool play. The top two teams advance to Saturday's semifinals.