March 29, 2024

Mustangs downed by Demons

Diagonal bounced in opening round play

ANKENY – The Lamoni Demons are the Champions of the Bluegrass Conference volleyball tournament for the 2019 season.

With a 3-0 win over Murray, Lamoni won its sixth straight game to close out the regular season at a record of 18-6.

Murray, who had beaten Melcher-Dallas (2-1) and Diagonal (2-0) to get to the final, was unable to hold back the Demons as Lamoni won three straight sets by 25-7, 25-15 and 25-18 set wins.

“It was a hard fought match against ACA to get to the finals, but a very good Lamoni team proved to be too much,” said Murray head coach Jerry Shields.

Prior to getting to the final, Murray beat Ankeny Christian Academy 2-1 (23-25, 25-15, 15-12).

Across both matches Emma Decker led in aces with four. She was a perfect 23-for-23 on serves. Jayda Chew and Rylee Newton tied with the high in assists with nine and Bailey Frederick led in digs with seven.

Kinzee Eggers had nine kills and Twila Barber had seven. Calleigh Klein and Eggers tied with two blocks for the team lead.

Tuesday

In the opening round of Bluegrass tournament play, Murray lost one set in route to wins over Melcher-Dallas and Diagonal in Pool 1 play.

The Lady Mustangs lost the opening set 25-23 before tacking back-to-back sets at 25-23 and 15-10 for the win.

Eggers had 12 kills on 24 attack attempts in the win. She also had four blocks.

Barber had seven kills and four digs. She led the team in aces with three on 13-of-15 serving.

Chew led in assists with 10. She paired it with three digs and 13 of 14 serving. Newton was also a presence in the helper column with nine assists.

Against Diagonal, the Lady Mustangs won 25-9 and 25-10.

Eggers had five kills and Barber had four. The two combined for 20 attack attempts.

Barber was 11-for-11 on serve with a team-high four aces. Chloe Church, Emma Decker and Bailey Frederick each had two aces and went a combined 17 of 19 from the line.

Chew led in assists with three and had two digs also.

Against Murray, Diagonal had five kills from Kayla Bentley. She also had seven digs, also being a team-high.

Taylor Lumbard had five digs and went five of six from the line. Erin Sobotka had six assists with three digs and a kill.

Diagonal also faced Melcher-Dallas in pool play, losing 25-10 and 27-25.

The Maroonettes were let by Lumbard in the digs department with 11. She tied Bentley for the high in kills with two apiece.

Anna Newton had six digs while Bentley, Sobotka and Kerrigan Mobley each had five.

Diagonal will now go to play Mormon Trail, Seymour and Moulton-Udell Saturday in Seymour as part of a weekend tournament.