VOLLEYBALL: Top-ranked Eagles win in straight sets over Bulldogs

It’s not every year the Orient-Macksburg Bulldogs get to play a top-ranked volleyball squad, let alone get to host that school, but that’s just what happened last week. The Class 1A top-ranked Ankeny Christian Eagles came to Orient for a Bluegrass Conference match. It was the only outing for the week for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs struggled all night to score points against Ankeny Christian. The first set went to the Eagles b25-4 to take a 1-0 match lead. The Eagles took a 2-0 match lead with a second set, 25-6 win. Ankeny Christian finished off the sweep with a 25-13 third-set win.

The Eagles are 28-8 in sets this season with wins over larger schools in West Des Moines Valley, Norwalk, Waukee, Ankeny, Dowling Catholic, Ackley-Geneva-Wellsburg-Steamboat Rock and Aplington-Parkersburg.

Since 2009, Ankeny Christian has a record of 19-5 in 24 matches between the two schools. Orient-Macksburg came into the match off of their first win over the season against Diagonal on September 12, 3-0. Ankeny Christian came into the match with three wins in their last five matches against AGWSR, Aplington-Parkersburg, and Mormon Trail. The top-ranked Eagles improved to 12-4 with the win while Orient-Macksburg fell to 1-4.

The Bulldogs have a two-match week this week with a home match on Tuesday, September 24 against Moravia and a road match at Lamoni on Thursday, Sept. 26. Next week, O-M goes to Twin Cedars Oct. 1 before returning home to play Mormon Trail Oct. 3.

For the season, before their match with Ankeny Christian, Orient-Macksburg had 99 attacks as a team with 41 kills from those attacks.

Mattie Thompson leads with a team-high 30 assists from her setter position.

Emma Boswell leads O-M in attacks and kills with 30 and 17. Marissa Cass had 21 attacks and 10 kills. Carter Osborne, Kaydence Kirkland, Ella Boswell, and Thompson all had three kills while Kolbie Carson had two kills.

Maisyn Carson leads in digs with 19 while Emma Boswell had seven and Thompson six.

Orient-Macksburg served 151-for-205 as a team with 29 aces. Thompson led going 35-for-43 with eight aces. Osborne was next, going 24-for-37 with nine aces.