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Washington Evening Journal
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Demons power past Panthers
Washington sweeps SEC volleyball match in Mt. Pleasant
MT. PLEASANT — Each of the three sets played at Mt. Pleasant Community High School on Tuesday night saw the hosting Panthers find a little success against visiting Washington, but it was the Demons who celebrated after every single one.
Washington showed it was the better closing team in three-straight games, as the Demons prevailed 25-20, 25-22 and 25-16.
Despite five kills and an ace by Mt. Pleasant’s Alex Scott in the opening set, Washington controlled the game en route to a five-point win. Leighton Messinger paced the Demons with four kills as Washington jumped out to a 1-0 lead.
“We wanted this win tonight,” Messinger said. “We all played well together, and everyone was doing their job.”
Washington seemed in control of the second set, leading by eight halfway through, but Mt. Pleasant had plenty of fight left. The Panthers rallied back to tie the game at 21-21, forcing a Washington timeout.
Washington broke the tie with a Taylor Miksch kill. The Demons would put one more point up to lead 23-21, and Ella Greiner ended the set with a kill of her own, bringing the score to 25-22.
“One of our goals was to not give up three in a row,” said Washington head coach Aaron Six. “We had hung with that until we got halfway through that second set. It showed our desire to win that, and make sure we weren't going to a fourth.”
In the third, Mt. Pleasant jumped out to an early lead, but it was once again the Demons that improved as the set went on. Messinger finished the game with three kills and a block, and Miksch tallied two kills and an ace to help lead the team to a third-set victory.
“Honestly, you just have to settle down and play with your team, and it all ends up working out,” Miksch said.
Messinger finished the day with 11 kills to lead Washington. Greiner had six, and Miksch finished with five.
Scott led the game with 11 kills and two aces for Mt. Pleasant. Emma Starr had seven kills. Myah Starr and Addison Clark finished with three each.
Washington moved to 7-15 overall and 2-2 in SEC play with the win. Mt. Pleasant is now 4-19 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
“We have to have a winner's mentality,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Logan Wall. “I'm proud of how they played, it's just we have to get over that hump.”
Both teams have a week off until their next games, as Washington will travel to Keokuk and Mt. Pleasant will got to Fairfield.
