Demon volleyball falls to Keokuk in tight sets

The conference season got underway for the Washington volleyball team on Thursday night.

The Demons started off their conference schedule with a good first game, winning 25-21, but fell just short in the next two sets, losing both by two points.

In the fourth set, Keokuk pulled away, taking a 25-16 victory, to claim the match with a 3-1 win.

The Demons were highly competitive in those middle two sets, forcing Keokuk into extra points, but the Chiefs eventually won set 2 30-28, and set 3 26-24.

The match loss drops Washington to 0-8 on the season, with the set victory marking their second set win of the year.

The Demons were led by Liv Postl, who posted nine kills in the conference match, while posting three blocks, and Jessie Buchholz, who had six kills and a team-best 15 digs.

Isabel Bailey led the team with four blocks, while Megan Mitchell had 17 assists for the Demons.

Earlier this week, Washington competed in a tournament at Wapello, where they faced Columbus, Central Lee and Wilton.

In the match against Columbus, Washington forced a decisive third set, but fell to the Wildcats, despite nine kills from Postl.

Central Lee defeated the Demons in a close first set, 21-18, but won the second 21-10 to win the tournament match.

Against Wilton (ranked No. 15 in Class 2A), the Demons fell 21-6, 21-10.

The Demons will  host rival Mt. Pleasant for a varsity contest at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, before traveling to Fort Madison on Thursday next week.