Tigers swept in home volleyball finale

Fort Scott junior Abby Humble (21) tips the ball over the net while teammate Madie Farmer (12) follows up during the third set of Tuesday night’s match versus Labette County in the new gymnasium at FSHS. The Tigers lost to Labette County in three sets and Independence in two in Southeast Kansas League play.

Scott Nuzum/Tribune

Fort Scott High School’s volleyball team finished its 2017 home schedule without a victory as Independence and Labette County took Southeast Kansas League matches in the new auxiliary gymnasium Tuesday evening.

League-leading Independence swept the Tigers, 25-18, 25-21, then swept Parsons, 25-18, 25-21, before going home. The Tigers (1-5 SEK, 9-14 overall) then lost to Labette County, 25-18, 22-25, 25-11. LCHS concluded the night’s play by defeating rival Parsons in three, 18-25, 25-20, 25-21. Parsons (2-4, 6-14) and Fort Scott did not play each other nor did Indy and LCHS.

Independence’s only loss of the season — since avenged — was in a non-league match against Pittsburg in its season opener August 31. The Bulldogs (6-0, 23-1) have won 22 consecutive matches since. In contrast, Fort Scott is on a nine-match losing streak since beginning the season 9-5.

The Tigers played Independence tough. They held a 15-11 lead in the first set. Montana LaRoche’s ace serve made it 18-15 later in the set. But Indy scored the last 6 points after trailing 20-19.

Fort Scott fought back from a 17-10 deficit in the second set to get within 18-15 when Hunter Adamson and Addi Lyons combined on a block. However, Kate Gordon’s kill at 24-19 ended the match.

Kharsyn Dwyer led the Tigers with 6 kills while Abby Humble had 10 assists.

Labette County (4-2, 12-9) controlled the first set of that match. The Tigers rallied several times in the second set, taking a 21-20 lead on Madison Cook’s block. The Grizzlies couldn’t handle the ball off an Adamson block, giving the Tigers that set.

LCHS rolled out to a 7-1 lead in the third set and didn’t look back.

Dwyer had 8 kills for the Tigers. Humble handed out 12 assists and Jocie Allen came up with 7 digs.

The Tigers finished in eighth place at the Louisburg Tournament on Saturday, going 0-5 in a field that included four state-ranked teams.

Their first match was a 25-15, 25-4 loss to Basehor-Linwood, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A-Division I. Next, they fell to Olathe Heritage Christian, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, 25-14, 25-13. In the final match of pool play, Fort Scott was swept by Class 6A Shawnee Mission East, 25-19, 25-15.

In the consolation bracket, the Tigers faced Louisburg, the No. 3-ranked team in Class 4A-Division I, and lost 25-19, 25-15. In the seventh-place match, Leavenworth took a 25-18, 25-18 sweep.

Thursday night, the Tigers go to Columbus to take on the host Titans, Girard and Pittsburg in a non-league quadrangular. Play begins at 5 p.m.