Mt. Pleasant volleyball bumps Burlington in 4

MT. PLEASANT — The Mt. Pleasant volleyball team entered Tuesday night’s game against Burlington riding a three-game losing streak, but they left with a big Southeast Conference victory.

Mt. Pleasant’s Lydia Ebeling leaps for a kill attempt during the Panthers’ four-set win over Burlington on Tuesday night. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)

The Panthers used early runs to put the pressure on Burlington all night, and picked up their first SEC win in four sets, winning 26-24, 24-26, 25-18, 25-16.

“It feels good,” Mt. Pleasant head coach David Streeter said. “Our girls battle through.”

The victory follows losses to Dallas Center-Grimes, Fairfield and Albia in the Panthers’ last three contests.

Tristian Shull sets the ball during Mt. Pleasant’s four-set win on Burlington on Tuesday night. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)

Mt. Pleasant got off to big leads in each of the first three sets. The Panthers held a 4-0 advantage in Set 1, a 6-0 lead in Set 2, and as high as a 16-4 advantage in Set 3.

All three games had one thing in common: The Panthers went on big runs when senior Ralyn Seberg was on the serve.

“When I get back there I Just know I've got to focus on getting my serve over,” Seberg said. “Just focus on my serve before I get into the court.”

Ralyn Seberg moves to bump the ball during Mt. Pleasant’s home game against Burlington on Tuesday night. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)

Despite the early leads, the first sets were nail-biters. In Set 1, the game was tied 24-24 before Kenna Lamm closed out the game with two-straight kills. In Set 2, however, Mt. Pleasant blew a lead that was 11-6 at one point. Burlington stormed back and grabbed a 26-24 win of its own, scoring the final three points of the set in the process.

“We really had to regroup and fix our attitudes, and really come together as a team and realize we have to pick each other up when we make mistakes,” Lamm said.

Mt. Pleasant didn’t trail in the third set. The fourth was close early, but the Panthers eventually built a nine-point lead, at 22-13.

“It's super nice considering we've always been really close with them,” Lamm said. “It's awesome.”

Lamm led the squad with 17 kills in the win. Seberg had two aces on the night, and Lamm, Andrea Lopreato, Regan Seberg, Tristian Shull and Jersey Beachy all had one ace.

Mt. Pleasant is now 6-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Panthers travel to Wilton’s tournament on Saturday.

Mt. Pleasant’s Ralyn Seberg (6), Emma Starr (7), Tristian Shull (13), Kate Schimmelpfennig (9) and Kenna Lamm (4) celebrate after a kill by Starr on Tuesday night. (Andy Krutsinger/The Union)