Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
No. 4 Mid-Prairie defeats Washington
Golden Hawks improve to 10-0 with in over Demons
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Mid-Prairie volleyball kept its perfect season rolling Monday night. The Golden Hawks (10-0, 1-0 River Valley South) took down Washington 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-17) and showed every part of why they have earned the No. 4 ranking in Class 3A.
The Demons took a 14-11 lead in set No. 3 and threatened to make a run to extend the match. Rather than relent, Mid-Prairie dug deep and outscored Washington 14-3 to win the final set. That run included a 4-1 finish after Washington called timeout down 21-16.
“We’re a hard team to beat in that case because we scrap up defense,” Mid-Prairie co-head coach Zeb Evans said. “They think they might have the ball down, but we still get a kill out of it. We may be able to attack out of that same set. We always tell everybody, ‘We’re never out of system. ‘If the ball is in the air for us, we’re ready to attack.”’
That Golden Hawks attack was led by senior Jovi Evans, who tallied a team-high 15 kills and 15 assists. Seniors Katelyn Harland and Harper Pacha had nine and seven kills, respectively. Avery Helmuth tallied 13 assists.
Evans and Harland were also two of five Golden Hawks who had two total blocks. The team’s tally of 10 helped stem the Washington attack and compliment its own.
“We’re pretty picky on those little things that we do at practice that we’ve got to hone in,” co-head coach Shannon Evans said. “We are very basic at practice, but our girls really buy into what our philosophy is and keep just working on it. So hopefully we can play flawless and just keep going.”
Mid-Prairie has achieved its perfect start to the season despite not playing a single game at home so far. The Golden Hawks will make their first appearance in the Mid-Prairie High School gym when they take on River Valley South foe West Liberty at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.
Washington had a few bright moments in its third match of the season against a ranked foe. The Demons have prepared themselves well for SEC competition having faced Mid-Prairie as well as two matches against Clear Creek Amana, the No. 1 team in Class 4A.
Leighton Messinger led the Demons attack with 10 kills Monday. Washington relied on both Reagan Miller and Carys Miller to set up the opportunities. Both players combined for 15 of Washington’s 17 assists.
Washington countered Mid-Prairie’s net play with seven blocks of its own. Sarah Berdo and Layla Green each had two. Green also chipped in with five kills.
The Demons quickly bounced back from the defeat with a 3-1 (25-11, 25-17, 25-27, 25-23) win over Fairfield on Tuesday. Washington (5-7, 2-0 Southeast Conference) has six days off before its next match against Pella Christian on Monday. The game will be streamed live on the Southeast Iowa Video Network Facebook and YouTube channels.
