Photo: Matt Smith
BY BRIAN GOSSET
X – @Gosset41
GARLAND – Meeting for the fifth time at state in the last decade, including last season’s Class 2A championship match, Crawford avenged three of those losses by beating Iola in five sets, 22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 19-25, 15-5 in the 2A Division 2 title game on Thursday night at the Culwell Center.
It was Crawford’s third title and first since 2019, and also its eighth appearance in the final four.
The Pirates end the year with a 44-5 record.
Meanwhile, Iola (45-8) has been among the regulars at state as the Bulldogs were making it for the 14th time in program history. They had won four state titles (2015, 2016, 2020, 2023).
Crawford lost to Iola in four sets during the 2023 and 2020 finals, as well as the 2015 semis.
Crawford beat Iola in the 2017 finals.
Hattie Hayes was voted state champ MVP with an impressive 20 kills and 20 digs. She also added three aces, two assists and one block assist.
She got help from setter Blair Keith, who finished with 45 assists and 16 digs while Bre Featherston, Cassyn Aguirre and Ella Connell helped pace the offense with a combined 26 kills. Connell and Laney Elmore led the Pirates with 23 digs apiece.
Iola managed to force a fifth set when it rallied for a big run in the fourth.
The Bulldogs trailed 12-10 before going on a 10-2 run. They were led by Sydney Nevill’s game-high 24 kills on a 0.333 clip. Four players had 10+ digs highlighted by 23 and 20 from Ava Bessette and Rylee Goodney, respectively. Cami Hoyle added eight kills and 18 digs, and Shaylee McKown chipped in 10 kills and 10 digs.
Iola struggled on offense outside of Nevill as the Bulldogs finished with a 0.087 clip as a team. They hit under 0.100 in the third, fourth and fifth sets while Crawford hit 0.273 in the final game.
