Keota knocks off English Valleys

Keota volleyball would not be denied.

The Eagles found themselves down big early in the second set against English Valleys in the first round of the Class 1A Region 3 playoffs. The Eagles fell into a 17-6 hole. The Bears won four straight points after Keota cut EV’s lead to 20-16.

But that didn’t deter a spirited Eagles team that has come on strong in the last month. They added three quick points before EV was able to finish the set, and ripped the momentum right back to seal a 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-14, 25-15) postseason victory.

“They were not gonna give up,” Keota co-head coach Jill Redlinger said. “And we’ve been in those positions before where we’ve been down and they fight back, and they did that again tonight.”

The third set was back-and fourth to start before Keota went on a 8-2 run to take a 13-7 lead after the set was tied at five. The Eagles extended that advantage to 19-9, which included back-to-back aces by Emily Conger. Jaylah Redlinger put Keota up 21-12 with a kill, and finished off the set with another.

Keota kept it rolling in the fourth set, taking a 12-5 lead. Both teams traded points until senior Kennedy Jackson logged back-to-back kills and a service ace to put the Eagles up 21-13 and give them a comfortable cushion to close out the match.

“In that second set when we lost, it was definitely a kick for us because we really wanted to get the next set,” Jackson said. “The coaches were really encouraging and they told us that we could do it, and that’s always the best encouragement.”

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The Eagles staved off an English Valleys comeback in the first set to get themsleves off to a critical start. Keota had a 20-10 lead before the Bears went on an 11-3 run out of a timeout.

Keota was able to hold on, and played with the energy of a team that won five of its last six games entering Monday and didn’t want its season to end. The Eagles beat the Bears for a third time this season after a 2-0 victory in August and a similar win to Monday’s match earlier this month - 3-1 (23-25, 25-10, 25-22, 25-14).

“We did our homework and we sat down with print outs and angles of where they hit the most and where their holes were for us,” Redlinger said. “But we knew they had that against us, too. So it was a little nerve-racking even though we prepared.”

Keota will hope preparation can pay off once again when it faces Cedar Ridge Christian in the 1A-3 quarterfinal. The Regents finished 19-10, including a 6-1 mark in the Iowa Star North division.

Other Union area small school results

Columbus picked up a win in the first round of the Class 2A Region 1 playoffs. The Wildcats defeated Louisa-Muscatine 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-20). It was the third time the two teams faced off after splitting a pair of matchups in the regular season.

Kennedy Woepking had 14 kills to lead Columbus. Hailey Wellington and Jessica Del Rio each added nine. Zai Par had five of team’s seven service aces. Daniela Diaz led the Wildcats with 33 assists.

Columbus moves on to the quarterfinal round Wednesday against Bellevue. The Comets are 15-10, including a 5-2 mark in River Valley Conference North Division play this season.

Highland came painstakingly close to a victory in the 1A-3 first round. The Huskies took the first set off HLV-TC, and sent it to a fifth set after dropping the next two.

But the Warriors had just enough in the tank and won the fifth set 15-9. The Huskies came up just short, but lost 3-2 (25-20, 15-25, 21-25, 25-21, 9-15). Their season ends at 4-23, including a 2-6 mark against Southeast Iowa Super Conference North opponents.

Hillcrest Academy lost 0-3 (12-25, 20-25, 13-25) to BGM in the 1A-3 first round. The Ravens finished the season with a 16-11 record, including a 4-4 mark in SEISC North play.

WACO suffered a 0-3 (13-25, 10-25, 11-25) defeat to Burlington Notre Dame in the Class 1A Region 2 first round. The Warriors season ends at 6-18 (1-7 SEISC North).

New London also came up short in 1A-2 first round play. The Tigers lost 0-3 (10-25, 18-25, 12-25) to Wapello.

Cardinal lost to Danville 0-3 (10-25, 12-25, 12-25) in the Class 2A Region 8 opening round. The Comets ended the season with a 7-23 (0-5 South Central) record.