Lenox advances after topping Mount Ayr in regional opener

LENOX — The Tigers (23-15) bounced back from a game one loss, winning three straight against the Raiderettes (17-17) to take a 3-1 win in the Class 1A Region 6 opener at home.

All four games were close, Mount Ayr winning game one 25-22 before Lenox took the next three 25-20, 25-19 and 25-21.

Senior Sadie Cox was a major playmaker for the Tigers, logging 28 kills and three aces in the four sets.

Lenox got out to an early lead in game one, but Mount Ayr fought their way back in, tying the game at 13. From there, it was a back-and-forth game until it tied at 21.

Mount Ayr junior Aubree Shields served consecutive aces to stay on pace with the Tigers.

Shields led the Raiderettes, logging a team-high 15 kills, two solo blocks and 17 digs.

Senior Izzy Curtis was on a roll at the end of the first match, scoring three of the Tigers’ last four points on kills.

Curtis had 13 kills on the night along with two solo blocks and two block assists on defense.

It wasn’t enough as Lenox floundered at the end, a penalty and two hits out of bound giving Mount Ayr the first win.

Sophomore Jaylee Shaffer led the Raiderettes with 22 assists.

Again it was the Tigers with the hot start in game two, going up 5-1 and then 9-3. Cox put up five kills in Lenox’s first eight points.

A bad serve by the Tigers and a block by Shields narrowed the lead to 9-5.

The Raiderettes slowly worked to close the gap, getting within two points several times before a 4-point run tied the game at 16. Senior Ashlyn Murphy got the run started with a kill. Two of the remaining points in the run were aces from senior Breya Nickle.

The Raiderettes capitalized on a fantastic night from the service line. The team logged 12 aces and missed only four serves — a 95.1% efficiency.

The Tigers also had a great night serving, capitalizing on nine aces and serving with 91.5% efficiency.

This time it was the Raiderettes turn to be frazzled at the end of a set, a penalty and three bad hits tying the match at one game apiece.

In set three, Mount Ayr led at 4-3, but it was their last lead of the set. It was the biggest margin of victory, the Tigers winning 25-19.

Cox scored three of Lenox’s last four points, two on aces and one from a kill. Junior Delaney Funk led the Tigers with 19 assists.

The last set was tight all the way through, the game tied at 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, 16 and 17. Though it was close, the Tigers were in control as held Mount Ayr off from taking the lead.

The Raiderettes went on a 3-point run, taking a 17-16 lead, their first since leading 3-2 early in the bout.

The Raider fans went crazy as Shields earned a kill and the Tigers put one in the net, giving Mount Ayr a 20-17 lead.

The Tigers scored the next two points, one on a kill by Curtis and the other on a hit out of bounds by the Raiderettes.

Tied at 21, a hit in the net by Mount Ayr gave Lenox the lead. From there, they scored the next three to knock the Raiderettes out of the playoffs.

Up Next

The Tigers advance to play at Stanton (19-18) tonight in round two of regionals.

Southwest Valley (28-3) shut out Diagonal Monday to advance to host Lamoni (17-11) tonight.

The winner of the two Wednesday bouts will advance to the regional semifinals Monday at Stanton.

At Southwest Valley, Katey Lillie had a team-high eight kills and 10 digs. Ray Helvie had six kills while Marley Gray and Maddie Bevington had four each. Morgan Shuler has 23 assists. Ada Lund had with 23 service attempts and led the team with five aces.