Weekend volleyball update

Local volleyball teams were busy over the weekend as the first weekend tournaments were held across the state.

Washington, Highland and Columbus were among the local teams in action over the past few days, with the teams combining for a few wins over that span.

Washington swept at Grinnell tourney

The Demon volleyball team struggled to get its offense going on Saturday at Grinnell, as they fell in straight sets to Clear Creek-Amana, Grinnell and Iowa Valley.

In the contest against Clear Creek-Amana, the Demons fell 21-6, 21-8, while falling to Grinnell 21-7, 21-10.

The Demons? best fight of the day came against Class 1A, No. 5 ranked Iowa Valley,  where they fell 21-11, 21-12.

The losses move Washington to 0-4 to start the year, but they will travel to Wapello on Tuesday evening for a tournament that will feature Columbus, English Valleys, Wilton and Central Lee.

Highland wins one at West Branch tournament

The Highland volleyball team went to West Branch on Saturday and came away with one victory, defeating Central City in straight sets on the day.

The win was highlighted by six kills by Aly Stokes in the contest, as the Huskies claimed a 21-18, 21-17 win.

Kelsey Hora was strong for the Huskies in the match leading the team with 11 digs and going 13-for-13 on serves in the contest.

In the team?s losses, Highland fell in three sets to Montezuma, with all the games being tightly contested.

Montezuma won the first set 27-25, while Highland rallied back for a 25-18 second-set win. In the decisive third set, Montezuma claimed the match with a 15-10 victory.

The Huskies had three players with at least four kills in the match, with Murphy Beinhard and Bailey Harmston notching five apiece to lead the team.

In Highland?s other two matches, they lost in straight sets to Regina and Eddyville-Blakesburg.

The Huskies will resume action on Thursday night, when they take on Winfield-Mt. Union in a conference match at home.

Columbus splits home triangular

On Thursday night, the Columbus volleyball team hosted a pair of teams for conference matches, where they came away with one victory.

In the win against Louisa-Muscatine (a 25-14, 25-16, 25-17 straight-set victory), the Wildcats were led by Shania Boyd?s nine kills and 25 digs.

The Wildcats saw senior Bailey Stroud also have a big night, claiming seven kills and 16 digs, while sophomore Anna Hamilton went 13-for-13 on serves, claiming three aces on the day.

The Wildcats also faced Mediapolis, who swept Columbus 25-7, 25-10, 25-13, while Shania Boyd once again led her team with five kills.

The Wildcats only missed four serves in the match, but Mediapolis proved too much to handle.

Columbus will be at the Wapello tournament on Tuesady afternoon.