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Hillcrest volleyball cruises to win in Keota tournament
Ravens start season with a bang
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Even with a modified tournament format, the Hillcrest Academy volleyball team was undeterred Monday night. The Ravens won all four of its matches at the Keota Volleyball Tournament to claim the title for a second straight year.
Hillcrest didn’t drop a set as it stormed to a 4-0 record in the round robin event. This year’s format was adjusted after Cedar Valley Christian, which was initially set to take part, did not participate.
The Ravens swept English Valleys in its first match and didn’t look back. They took down tournament hosts Keota and dominated Highland and Lone Tree, including a 21-5 first set against the Huskies and a 21-10 first set against the Lions.
“I don’t think there was ever a moment that we weren’t smiling and having fun no matter if it was going our way or not,” Hillcrest senior Claire Withrow said. “We just kept playing together as a team. That’s one thing that I really enjoy about this team is we just don’t let little things bother us.”
Hillcrest got off to a strong start in its quest to stay near the top of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North division after a 20-11 record last season. The Ravens lost SEISC Co-Player of the Year Malia Yoder and top blocker Kylee Statler, but retained five seniors led Withrow, who was the team’s top setter last season, and Niva Helmuth, who’s 164 kills ranked second on the team.
“We’ll go as they go,” coach Tanna Boshart said. “They will determine how we play. I think they do a nice job setting the tone with the group. The younger kids look up to them, and I think they have really embraced that role of being captains and being leaders on the team, and I’m so grateful for them and just their willingness to kind of step into something a little bit new. I was an assistant coach last year so I’m not completely new. But just a little bit of different way of doing some things ... I’ve just really appreciated both of them.”
Two other Union area teams were also in action Monday. Tournament hosts Keota went 3-1 in its home gym.
Highland split its four matches finishing 2-2. The Huskies fell to Keota and Hillcrest, but cruised against Lone Tree winning 21-8 in the first set and 21-6 in the second.
The Huskies also took down English Valleys in three sets, winning the third 15-3. Highland is looking to build off of a 17-13 campaign in 2024, its first winning season in seven years.
Keota, powered by a vocal student section set up on its opponets’ side beat English Valleys 21-16, 21-13 in its first match. The Eagles then bounced back from a loss to Hillcrest with a victory over Lone Tree, including a 15-12 win in the third set. The Eagles ended the night with a win over Highland.
“I’m very happy with where we’re sitting right now,” coach Jill Redlinger said. “We’re just trying to figure out who is [the] best fit in certain positions and that’s what was really good to see tonight is getting some people rotated around.”
Redlinger is in her first season at the helm for Keota along with co-head coach Shannon Greiner. Keota didn’t partake in any preseason scrimmages, so the duo worked out some lineup kinks during the tournament and got some good insight for the season ahead.
