Red Oak sweeps Panthers

Three Red Oak hitters combined for 23 kills as the Tigers swept the Creston volleyball team 25-15, 25-16, 25-15 Thursday night.

Creston youth volleyball players were recognized prior to the match and lined the court during introductions.

Sophomore middle hitter Jocelyn O’Neal led the Tigers with nine kills. Marley Gray and Karly Jenkins were also part of the attack with seven kills each.

Braylee Pokorny provided three Creston blocks against the Red Oak front line, and the back row defense was active led by Mila Kuhns with 10 digs, but the Panthers were unable to generate enough offense to match the Tigers. Jaycee Hanson, Kolbey Bailey and Hollyn Rieck each had four kills to lead Creston.

With Kadley Bailey sidelined by a broken hand, Kolbey Bailey has stepped in to join Rieck as the primary Creston setters.

“Kolbey was a setter her freshman year, so she has some experience and that helps,” Creston coach Teresa Arkfeld said.

Red Oak bolted away from a 3-2 lead to a 12-3 advantage in the first set and never allowed Creston to take a lead the rest of the night.

Trailing 22-6 in the opening set, Creston made a late rally as Kuhns had a five-point string at the service line, keyed by two Pokorny blocks. Ella Turner served an ace to cut it to 23-15 late in the set but the Tigers tallied the final two points for the win.

Creston also rallied late in the third set, cutting a 21-11 deficit to 21-14 on a service run by Pokorny and kills by Ady Morrison and Hanson. A net serve stopped the comeback and Merced Ramirez put down a kill to give the Tigers the serve for the winning point.

“We need to get our swings down and mix them up a little bit,” Arkfeld said. “We want to hit line, cross, tip, just mix it up more. We had a lot of hitting errors. Our serving was better, but we still missed seven and that hurts when you’re trying to come back. I thought our defense was scrappy tonight.”

Red Oak improved to 14-9 overall and 5-2 in fourth place in the Hawkeye Ten. Creston, now 5-16 overall and 0-8 in league play, hosts St. Albert Catholic Oct. 5 on senior night.

Statistical leaders

Serving (aces) — Cr: Hollyn Rieck 1, Ella Turner 1, Mila Kuhns 1. RO: Merced Ramirez 3.

Attacks (kills) — Cr: Jaycee Hanson 4, Kolbey Bailey 4, Hollyn Rieck 4, Braylee Pokorny 2. RO: Jocelyn O’Neal 9, Karly Jenkins 7, Marley Gray 7.

Blocks — Cr: Pokorny 3.

Setting (assists) — Cr: Rieck and Bailey (stats unavailable at press time). RO: Alexis Joint 16, Ramirez 12.

Digs — Cr: Kuhns 10, Hanson 5, Turner 5, Bailey 5. RO: Nicole Bond 17, Emily Sebeniecher 7.