Stone shatters own record, Pekin triumphs at IMS

KALONA ? Breaking her own record was so nice she had to do it twice.

In fact, for the second contest in a row, Pekin senior Leslie Stone broke the school record for assists in a match ? tallying 37 to shatter the five-day-old record of 25. Her effort helped pace the Panthers offense to a tight, five-set win over IMS on Tuesday.

Pekin won the match, which determined the third-place team in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North, by scores of 30-28, 22-25, 25-15, 20-25 and 15-12.

?We came out on top due to staying aggressive and swinging away in the front row, forcing IMS to make the mistakes and earn their points,? said Pekin head coach Ashley Bartels.

The match began in see-saw fashion, but the Panthers were the last team to come up in the first set. The rivals traded blows to 25-all, Pekin took a 29-28 lead and a kill from Cheyann Lankford on match point secured the crucial first-set victory.

During the second set, Pekin missed its first serve to set the tone for the rest of the match. The Panthers would end up totaling 14 missed serves on the night, but still managed to net victories in the third and fifth games.

?IMS fought back after every game we won and did not give up,? said Bartels. ?They are a good team, and it was exciting to watch both teams play competitively and fight for the win.?

In addition to the 37 assists, Stone had 17 digs, a pair of blocks and one ace on 24-of-26 serving. Lankford added seven digs to her team-high 18 kills, and Maranda Baker totaled 14 kills, 20 digs and four aces.

Emily Adam added 14 digs and two ace serves, Madelyn Baker dug up 13 balls and scored six kills, and Jessica Horras slapped five kills and one block. Jacinta Cooley finished with four kills, Brittany Gillam tallied seven digs and Jenna Swanson tacked on an ace.

With the win, the Panthers (13-12, 7-2 SEISC north) finish third in the conference behind champion Mediapolis and Winfield-Mount Union. They travel to Fairfield for a tournament Saturday before opening regional play Oct. 23 against the winner of Cardinal vs. Van Buren.

PEKIN ? 30, 22, 25, 20, 15

IMS ? 28, 25, 15, 25, 12

Kills ? (P) Lankford 18, Mar. Baker 14, Mad. Baker 6, Horras 5, Cooley 4

Assists ? (P) Stone 37, Horras 1, Adam 1

Aces ? (P) Mar. Baker 4, Adam 2, Stone 1, Swanson 1

Blocks ? (P) Stone 2, Mar. Baker 1, Mad. Baker 1, Horras 1

Digs ? (FF) Mar. Baker 20, Stone 17, Adam 14, Mad. Baker 13, Swanson 7, Lankford 7, Gillam 7