Eagles, Raiderettes, Timberwolves face off in POI triangular

AFTON -— Southwest Valley (4-1) came away with two Pride of Iowa wins Tuesday after a triangular with Mount Ayr (2-3) and East Union (1-9) in Afton.

The Raiderettes won their bout against the Eagles while East Union went 0-2 on the night.

“We opened up our first conference triangular tonight,” Southwest Valley coach Lisa Sparks said. “The team played together and battled through some low spots to end the night where we wanted to be.”

After being tied at 3 with East Union, the Timberwolves went on an eight-point scoring run.

“In the East Union game we hit well as a team. Katey Lillie led the way with six kills followed by Mackenzie Fast with five,” Sparks said. “Morgan Shuler led the assists column with 11. We continued to be aggressive at the service line as Maddie Bevington and Lillie ended the night with three aces apiece. As a team we need to work on being more consistent and not have as many service errors.”

The second set between the two teams was much closer, the Eagles even taking a 22-21 lead as the set came to the final points.

“East Union played hard-fought games against Southwest Valley, but fell in two sets, 14-25 and 22-25,” Eagles coach Kayla Hoffman said. “Haley Willet and Natalee Millslagle led the game with 11 digs apiece. Marlys Mitchell was outstanding back at the serving line going 6-6 with serves while tacking on an ace serve.”

The Timberwolves and Raiderettes faced off next, the game going to a third set after Mount Ayr won the second game.

Junior Aubree Shields led at the net for the Raiderettes with five kills on 23 attacks and five blocks on defense.

Senior Ashlyn Murphy served three aces for Mount Ayr while Olivia Huntington led the back-row defense with 12 digs.

The Timberwolves won the first set in a wide 25-13 margin. In the second set, the Raiderettes won 25-18. The final bout went 15-13 in a close win for Southwest Valley.

“Again we were aggressive attacking the ball. Katey Lillie led the way again with 11 kills followed by Ray Helvie and Marley Gray with nine apiece.” Sparks said. “I like the spread of kills the girls are getting. Morgan Shuler is doing a great job getting the girls the ball. She ended the night with 21 assists and a team-high 13 digs. Ada Lund was right behind with 12 digs. Again, errors at the service line hurt us as we went into three sets with Mount Ayr, but the girls worked hard and got the win.”

In the final match, the Raiderettes won two in a row over the Eagles.

“Once again, they fought hard but fell in two sets, 10-25 and 21-25,” Hoffman said. “Haley Willet once again led the team with 18 digs in the back row. Marlys Mitchell kept her perfect serving record for the night with 7-7 serves and three aces.”

Sophomore Jaylee Schaffer had eight assists for the Raiderettes while Shields and Breya Nickle each had five kills. Huntington and Shields each logged nine digs.

Tuesday night, East Union will play in another conference triangular with Nodaway Valley and Martensdale-St.Marys in Greenfield.

Mount Ayr hosts a triangular tonight with Clarke and Pleasantville. Saturday they travel to Shenandoah for a tournament.

Southwest Valley will play in a tournament Saturday at Griswold before returning to conference action Tuesday at Lenox in a triangular with Southeast Warren.