Demons fall in conference opener

The Mt. Pleasant volleyball team had their home opener against Washington on Tuesday night at a packed MPCHS gym. The Panthers defeated the Demons 3-1, after Washington fought back to avoid a sweep in the third set.

Both squads showed good signs early from their hitters. For Mt. Pleasant, Julie Lasswell, Abbie Liechty and Asiah Zaragoza were coming at the net in all directions. Sophomore setter Ashlee Menke played a crafty game, setting her hitters up with accurate sets and dabbling in a kill of her own when she had the space.

Washington?s Victoria Barber and Olivia Postl rained in attack attempts from the outside. McKenna Brinning got in on the action as well. Sophomore Megan Mitchell, among others, helped the cause by setting up her upper-classmen teammates.

The first set was back and forth, but the Panthers were able to hang on with the lead for most of the match, helped out by a loud MPCHS student section decked out in white. Mt. Pleasant took the first set 25-18.

The second set started out a lot like the first, but Mt. Pleasant?s Haley Booton took over midway through the set. The Panther senior went on a long serve streak that put Mt. Pleasant in commanding lead. The Panthers won the second set to make the set total 2-0.

?Everything moved really well,? said Mt. Pleasant head coach David Streeter about the first two sets. ?We play well when we get that rhythm. They got up, hit the ball and hit it hard.?

The Demons were not about to go quietly into the night, however, and it showed in the third set. Washington got out to a great start, at one point leading 18-7 on the way to a comfortable victory. A key factor was a big serve run by senior Morgan Kimball that put the Panthers on edge.

?When Morgan comes alive, she is a spark plug and a game changer for everybody,? said Washington coach Julianna Berg after the game. ?There is something about her. When she plays well, everyone plays well.?

The last set was the closest of the bunch, but Mt. Pleasant was able to get back in enough of a rhythm to take it 25-20, stopping the Demon rally and securing their first conference win of the year.

The Panthers moved to 3-3 overall on the season and 1-1 in the SEC. They?ll have a short rest before hosting conference-rival Keokuk on Thursday night.

Washington fell to 3-6 overall and 0-1 in conference play with the loss and will play on Thursday night as well. The Demons host Fairfield in their home opener.