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Washington sweeps Mediapolis in postseason opener
Demons advance to 3A Region 5 semifinal with win over Bulldogs
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WASHINGTON — Washington volleyball took care of business in its Class 3A Region 5 quarterfinal matchup against Mediapolis on Tuesday night.
The Demons swept the Bulldogs, winning 25-12, 25-11 and 25-20.
“I’m really proud of the team and all the hard work we’ve put in,” junior hitter Leighton Messinger said. “It took a lot of hard work and dedication, but I’m really excited to advance on. We did our job here.”
In the opening set, Washington leaped out to a 10-2 lead and never gave it up.
Kills from Leighton Messinger and Layla Green pushed the Demons lead to 11 at 15-4.
Mediapolis never had an answer.
Washington led by as much as 13 at 21-8 after an ace from Lauren Hinrichsen. To end it, Messinger and Taylor Miksch hammered home kills followed by an ace from Ruby Witthoft.
Mediapolis was able to keep it close in the second set of the night, but still the Washington firepower was too great.
After leading by six at 13-7, the Demons closed with a 12-4 run.
“A big thing is our team dynamic is so good,” Messinger said. “Everyone supports each other and cares for each other. We’re all working toward the same goal. We’re all determined.”
A pair of kills from Green and one from Messinger and Ella Greiner closed out the set.
Set three was much closer in the end.
The two squads tied four times in the early stages of the frame, before Washington built as large as a 10 point advantage at 19-9.
Mediapolis didn’t give up. The Bulldogs were able to get it back within four at 24-20, but with the Demons at match point was too much.
Messinger buried the game winner to punch the Demons ticket to the semifinal.
Ella Greiner led the Demons with 13 kills. Leighton Messinger finished with 11. Taylor Miksch carded nine kills and Layla Green followed with seven.
Ruby Witthoft ended with four aces to lead Washington.
The win propels Washington to 18-15. They will now head to Davenport Assumption on Thursday for the Region 5 semifinals.
“It’s a matter of us playing together,” Washington head coach Aaron Six said of the semifinal round. “We have to play with confidence. We have to believe we can play with anyone in the state. We’ve played against some quality opponents and I think that’s putting us in a position to know we can play with teams. We have to go in with confidence and play our style of volleyball.”
