Mid-Prairie, Highland win at Keota

KEOTA - Monday was the first day high schools were allowed competition so Keota hosted the Eagle Volleyball Tournament and Highland, Mid-Prairie, English Valleys, Lone Tree and Tri-County took advantage of it.

Keota has hosted the tournament for at least 20 years athletic director Rod Hill said, but there was a first at the tournament this year.

Due to the coronavirus, two champions were declared and those were Highland and Mid-Prairie. In the past, the two teams would have faced each other to declare a champion.

'It was disappointing not to play a championship because when you go to a tournament you want to get the most out of it,” Mid-Prairie head coach Sherry Evans said. 'But understanding the health concerns related to the worldwide pandemic, we will take what we can get. We are just happy we get to play this season.”

There were three teams in each pool and they played in different gymnasiums.

'It was because of Covid and they wanted to have less touching, less mingling between people and teams, less to worry about that way,” Highland head coach Gina Trower said. 'We would've really liked to have played that championship team, but we got to see a team (Lone Tree) that was in our conference so that will help us in conference play.”

In an effort to reduce any possible spread of COVID-19, the three teams in one gym had a champion and the three teams in the other gym had a champion.

'Hopefully, next year it will be back to the other way we have done it,” Hill said.

Mid-Prairie went 2-0 and won its pool with victories over Tri-County, 25-10, 25-12 and English Valleys 25-8, 25-2. English Valleys defeated Tri-County 25-14, 25-11.

Highland went 2-0 and won its pool with triumphs over Lone Tree, 22-25, 25-19, 15-13 and Keota 25-17, 25-12. Keota defeated Lone Tree, 25-22, 25-19.

It was convenient that the winners went 2-0. If there had been 1-1 teams, the tiebreakers would have went to points scored.

Evans said she couldn't have asked for a better start to the season with two really great wins right off the bat.

'This gave us an opportunity to see how different plays we have been working on during our two-a-days worked in a match,” she said. 'Our serve receive is one thing that we have really been focusing on, that and our serving. We came out and were passing dimes so that we could run everything in our attack.”

Mid-Prairie won this tournament last season, but did not win any matches in the River Valley Conference.

'We are going to give some teams a run for their money this year,” Evans said. 'Our offense is on and our passing is on, so we are going to surprise some people.”

Highland has nearly equaled last season's win total of three with its play Monday.

'We really worked well as a team, especially coming off our season last year, this is a big win,” Trower said. 'I think we can take a lot away from this and everybody will see that we are new team this year. This is something we will utilize for motivation.”

The Huskies have been working really hard during the short amount of practice they have been allowed.

'We have been working over and over so that they keep it in their heads that we need to communicate, move our feet and constantly bring each other up to the level we need,” Trower said. 'It definitely showed on the court.”

Trower said she will focus on some deep corner drills after seeing that as a weaker areas as well as the dead center of the court.

'I thought the whole team did really well, but one in particular would be Kayla Cerny,” Trower said. 'She is going to give our opponents a run for the money because they won't be expecting it.”

Keota won its first match because they were 'clicking well and doing all the things that we are supposed to do,” Eagles head coach Sky Hahn said. 'In the second match, we did not have the same communication and trust. We have to be willing to accept that each of us have to do our jobs for the whole team to work.”

The tournament did not end the way Hahn wanted it to but it provides things to work on in practice.

'We need to work on our defense and our communication,” Hahn said. 'Everything starts with a good pass. Everything is easy after that.”

Hahn said senior Lindsay Imhoff's leadership and junior Taylor Kindred's confidence are big pluses for the Eagles.

'Lindsay is confident and always encouraging to the younger kids and giving good advice,” Hahn said. 'Taylor has stepped into the middle front spot by becoming more confident in herself, which is super positive for us.”