Pekin continues hot streak, wins fifth straight

PACKWOOD ? Finishing off opponents has been a struggle for the Pekin volleyball team in the past, and the Panthers again found themselves on the verge of collapse vs. Louisa-Muscatine Tuesday.

After winning two of the first three games on their home court, Pekin trailed 20-23 in game four. A game five seemed imminent ? imminent to everyone but the Panthers.

Tori Davis recorded one of her four aces in the match to bring the Panthers within one, and Paige Jensen followed the ace up with three emphatic kills as Pekin won the four-game match 25-12, 18-25, 25-18, 25-23.

?Our Pekin way used to be where we would lose those final points every time, and we?ve learned with the past few games ?I?ve got to get my stuff in, I got to go for everything,?? said Pekin head coach Ashley Bartels. ?I just think mentally they?ve learned to get over that hump and now we?re learning to finish and overcome.?

While the first game was never in doubt, the match remained close the remainder of the night.

?Second, third, fourth game I think we kind of took a back seat, maybe let up a little bit,? said Bartels. ?We had too many missed serves. I just don?t think we were mentally ready for the game and ready to take ownership of the game.?

In the second game, hitting errors and missed serves led to a slow start for the Panthers, who fell behind 7-12 and were never able to recover in the game.

Behind the serve of Leslie Stone, who finished the game with seven aces, Pekin built a 3-0 lead in game three, but hitting errors continued to hamper Pekin as they again lost the lead. With the score tied 18-all, Davis took over on serve to help close game three with a five-point service run.

The Panthers were down middle hitter Cheyann Lankford due to a concussion, but several of her teammates stepped up in her absence.

Paige Jensen tallied eight kills and five blocks. Ruthanne Cooley and Maranda Baker had six and five kills, respectively. Baker and Leslie each added one block. Stone had 15 digs and Davis chipped in 14.

With the win, the Panthers improve to 14-8 and may still reach a goal the players set immediately before the Sept. 22 SEISC tournament. Bartels believes the goal, to go into regionals 16-8, has helped the team put together a five-game win streak.

?They?re pushing hard to reach that goal, and I think that?s helping them get this winning streak because they have something to work for,? said Bartels.

The Panthers continue their search for 16 wins with a trip to Washington on Monday before returning to Packwood to host IMS Tuesday.