Mid-Prairie claims title at Keota tourney

It was the official beginning to the volleyball season for teams across the state of Iowa on Monday, and a few area teams traveled to English Valleys for a season-opening tournament.

The tournament, hosted by Keota but moved due to damage to their gym, featured three area teams in the field, with Mid-Prairie leading the way, going 3-0 in their matches and claiming the tournament title for the second year in a row.

?It always feels good to win the first tournament of the season,? Mid-Prairie volleyball head coach Cindi Miller said. ?Returning several players from last year?s team has given us a boost in the right direction and a confidence on the court.  Tonight I was impressed to see solid playing from several new players and others in new roles including Alison Yoder in the back court.?

Yoder was steady for the Hawks all night, converting on all but one serve (26-for-27), claiming four aces on the day.

The Golden Hawks opened their tournament against Keota and Highland in pool play, and claimed a straight-set win over the Eagles.

Mid-Prairie won over Keota 25-16, 25-16, highlighted by sophomore Jaedynn Evans? 12 kills and senior Clarice Murphy?s 16 assists.

Both Shae Becker and Ali Butters notched six kills apiece, while Amanda Miller led the team with seven digs.

In their toughest match of the night, Mid-Prairie went toe-to-toe with Highland, going into three sets.

The Hawks claimed a 25-16 victory in the first set, before the Huskies rallied for a 25-21 win in set No. 2. In the decisive third set, the Hawks edged out Highland, claiming a 16-14 victory.

Three Hawks reached double-digit digs in the game, led by Miller?s 21, while Murphy had 16 more assists and Evans notched 14 kills in the match.

Shae Becker led the team with four blocks, while Maya Hall went 14-for-15 on serves, notching three aces.

The Huskies were led by Sydney Black?s six kills, while Kelsey Hora notched 19 digs in the contest. Hora and senior Amy Schnoebelen combined to go 27-of-28 serving in the game.

In the final match of the night, the Golden Hawks took on Lone Tree, and swept the Lions 25-15, 25-15 to claim the tournament title.

Evans notched 14 kills in the match, with Miller claiming 15 digs and Murphy claiming 13 assists.

Becker led the charge with five aces in her eight serve attempts.

Highland won their other two matches of the night, going 2-1 to open the year.

In their pool-play game against Keota, the Huskies cruised to a 25-6, 25-11 straight-set victory, with Aly Stokes claiming a team-best three kills in the game.

The Huskies did most of their work on the serve, going 45-for-47 as a team in the contest, notching eight aces.

In Highland?s final game against Tri-County, the Huskies swept with a 25-17, 25-12 win.

Bailey Harmston notched six kills to lead the team, while Schnoebelen had five assists and a team-best four digs.

Keota did not post stats before the publishing deadline.

Mid-Prairie will travel to Washington for their next match, as they will take on the Demons in their season-opener at 7 p.m.

Highland will go to a tournament in West Branch on Saturday afternoon.