Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Ravens win Keota tournament
Hillcrest begins volleyball season with a bang
KEOTA — Three Union area teams were in Keota on Monday night for a season-opening six-team tournament. One team walked out with a trophy.
Hillcrest Academy, which finished second in the 2023 tournament went one step further, going 3-0 on the day to take home the championship.
“It's all about progress to me,” said Ravens head coach Brandon Statler. “The first year, we won a match. Last year we made it to the championship, won the first set and kind of crumbled under the pressure.”
There wasn’t any crumbling for the Ravens on Monday night. After sweeping English Valleys, then dropping the first set to Highland, the Ravens won four-straight sets to close things out.
“We hit some spells where we definitely faded, but they reacted,” Statler said. “We've got that senior leadership.”
Hillcrest had to survive rival Highland in the de facto Pool B championship after both teams had already beaten English Valleys.
Highland took the first set, winning 21-18, but it was all Hillcrest from there. The Ravens won Set 2, 21-10, and went on to win the pool with a 15-8 victory in Set 3.
Meanwhile, Keota was flirting with first place in pool play. The Eagles beat Cedar Valley Christian in the opener, but fell in three sets to Lone Tree, dropping the decider 17-15.
That result pitted Lone Tree and Hillcrest Academy in the championship game. The Ravens were too much, winning both sets 21-10 to cruise to victory.
“I feel like we were really confident,” said Hillcrest senior Kylee Statler. “When we started out playing EV, it was a little sloppy, but we got better.”
The Ravens more than doubled their season win total last year, winning 10 matches on the season. Hillcrest hopes this early boost can continue to rise a team that hadn’t had any seniors for three years leading up to this fall.
“It feels great, especially since last year we lost in the championship,” said senior Malia Yoder. “It feels great to come out here and win it.”
Keota prevailed in the third place game against Highland. The Egles won sets 21-16 and 21-10 to finish the night with a 2-1 record. Highland went 1-2, taking fourth.
