MP volleyball sweeps home opener

MT. PLEASANT — The Mt. Pleasant volleyball team scooped up its first Southeast Conference win in style on Tuesday night.

The Panthers hosted Keokuk in a league clash, and showed they may be a team to be reckoned with this fall, sweeping the Chiefs in straight sets to move to 1-1 in the conference.

Mt. Pleasant won the first two sets convincingly, taking games 25-14 and 25-15. Alex Scott had six kills in the opening set, then three in the second, a mark she shared with both Addison Clark and Kynlee White.

“It was so fun,” said Scott. “I was just so exciting, just being at your home place, and your students being there. It’s really fun.”

The Chiefs battled much closer in the third set, but again, the Panthers were too much down the stretch, winning 25-18 to end the night early.

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“The girls were just excited to come here and have a crowd, and have everyone see them play,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Alicia Schrader. “They’ve been doing great, and I wanted them to have the confidence to come in here, and show off what they’ve been working on.”

It was Mt. Pleasant’s first home game of the year, and Schrader’s first home contest as the head coach since taking over before this season.

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Scott led the team with 14 kills. Clark had 13, and Jenna Schwartz impressed with an eight kill night, which featured six kills and five blocks.

“She’s doing great,” said Schrader. “We’ve been working hard on those blocks, and you can tell that she’s doing a wonderful job.”

Abby Carthey continued to lead the team at the setter position, dishing out 19 assists. Three players had double digit digs, with Clark securing 16, Carthey picking up 11, and Meadow Carter racking up 10.

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Mt. Pleasant is now 7-3 on the season, and 1-1 in conference play. The Panthers will play at the Wilton tournament on Saturday.