RED OAK — The Creston volleyball team, ranked 15th in Class 4A, gave a spirited effort here Tuesday, but fell to Class 3A No. 3 Red Oak 25-17, 15-25, 26-24, 25-19 in the team’s final tuneup before regional play begins on Monday.
The loss drops Creston to 20-7 for the season and 6-4 in Hawkeye 10 Conference play. The Panthers finish tied for third in the conference with Lewis Central. Red Oak improved to 30-7 overall and 9-1 in the Hawkeye 10, good enough for a second place finish.
“We didn’t play too bad,” Creston head coach Polly Luther said. “My back row really did a nice job. After the first game, they really did a nice job for us. I was really pleased with what we came with. We have some things to fine tune and work on, and we know that, so that we’re ready for Monday.”
Luther said her team came out of the gates slow in the first game, before eventually playing better toward the end of the game. But Red Oak still picked up a 25-17 win in that first game.
But, the Panthers’ play toward the end of that game carried over to the start of the second game, as Creston got out to a good start en route to a 25-15 win, evening the match at 1-1.
“We started slow and then kind of came on at the end,” Luther said. “I think that just kind of carried over. New game, we started out strong and never let them get into it. Third game we started out strong again, and had some lapses there where we maybe didn’t communicate as we should, and let them back in.
“Once you let a good team back in, they’re going to come back at you. The girls played hard. We just can’t have any lapses against good teams.”
The Panthers had built a 15-9 lead in the third game, but Red Oak battled back to tie it at 16-16, before taking a 22-20 lead.
Creston forged a tie at 24-24, but the Tigers scored the final two points of the set to take a commanding 2-1 lead.
“We walked in tonight and it’s always a little bit intimidating,” Luther said. “Number 3 team in the state. The Red Oak crowd is always an imposing atmosphere. The girls came out and played tough. We had some other girls step up. Kind of a carryover from the weekend where we had some other girls step up.”
The Panthers had a balanced attack at the net, led by Jenna Taylor’s 12 kills. Natalie Mostek finished with 11 and Sydney Dunphy recorded 10. Mostek had three blocks and Taylor had one.
Dunphy served 16-16 with three aces, while Jami Sickels and Mostek served 12-12. Alyssa Higgins also served three aces. Mostek led the team with 20 digs, while Sickels and Haylee LaMasters each finished with 12.
The Panthers return to action 7 p.m. Monday at home in the Class 4A Region 3 opener at home against 12th-ranked Glenwood. The winner moves on to play 14th-ranked Lewis Central in Council Bluffs at 7 p.m. on Oct. 30 in the regional semifinal.
Creston statistics
Serving (aces) — Jami Sickels 12-12, Hanna Luther 10-10, Natalie Mostek 12-12 (1), Sydney Dunphy 16-16 (3), Haylee LaMasters 11-11, Alyssa Higgins 11-14 (3).
Attacks (kills) — Jenna Taylor 12, Natalie Mostek 11, Sydney Dunphy 10, Marie Hood 5, Angela Sorensen 2.
Blocks (solo-assists) — Natalie Mostek 3, Jenna Taylor 1.
Setting (assists) — Hanna Luther 41.
Digs — Natalie Mostek 20, Jami Sickels 12, Haylee LaMasters 12, Hanna Luther 7, Alli Thomsen 6, Alyssa Higgins 5, Sydney Dunphy 4, Marie Hood 3.
Junior varsity
The Creston JV team bounced back from a loss in game one to beat Red Oak on Tuesday, 28-30, 27-25, 15-6.
Ashley Harris and Nicole Haley each recorded six kills. Gracie Russell served 17-of-17.
“Our team showed fight,” Creston JV coach Jessie McClellan said. “They wanted to win their last game, so they did. I’ve had so much fun coaching these girls. They are all great kids!”
Freshmen
Red Oak defeated the Creston freshmen 25-12, 25-16, 25-18, 4-8 here on Tuesday.
“We played very competitively after game one,” Creston freshman coach Mike McCabe said. “It was 16-16 in game two before nine straight and 17-16 in game three before a late run.”
Faith Wilson served 13-of-14 for Creston, while Kiersten Latham was 8-8 and Mykenna Hribal finished 9-10. Macy Andreasen served 5-5 and Victoria Borha finished 3-3.