No. 4 Tigers take down Panthers in three

The Tigers (22-2) took the win in the battle of the big cats Thursday at Creston in a 3-0 sweep of the Panthers (8-9).

Ranked No. 4, the Tigers came in with some of the best in Class 3A. Senior setter Emily Sebeniecher averages nine assists per game while senior outside hitter Jocelyn O’Neal averages 3.9 kills per game. Sebeniecher had 33 assists in three sets against the Panthers while O’Neal had 15 kills.

Creston’s offense was stifled Thursday, senior Jaycee Hanson leading the team with seven kills; Ella Turner added six. They were assisted by Kadley Bailey who posted 17.

After going down 9-5 in the first set, the Panthers rallied to score seven unanswered points, taking a 12-9 lead.

Senior Braylee Pokorny was a huge part of this comeback, scoring for the Panthers on two balls the Tigers couldn’t return.

Up 10-9, Hanson dug up a serve, sending the ball back across the net. On Red Oak’s return, Pokorny denied the Tigers, putting up a perfect solo block.

Pokorny had five blocks in the matchup, the same amount as the entire Tigers team. Turner and Hollynn Rieck each added two.

The Tigers took a timeout after going down 11-9, but the Panthers came back to take the next point on a block by Pokorny and Rieck after great back-row saves by Hanson and libero Avery Staver.

Rieck led with 13 digs while Staver had 11. Bailey and Hanson each chipped in nine.

Red Oak came back to tie the game up at 13 with kills by Keely Jones and O’Neal. From there, they outscored the Panthers 12-4 to take the first set 25-17.

Set two was the closest with the Panthers falling 25-20, but they never led after an early 2-1 advantage.

Creston got within three points late, trailing 20-17, but couldn’t get any closer to their score. They earned their last score at the set point on a long rally including denials at the net by Pokorny and Hanson. The final set was lost 25-18.

From the service line, three Panthers put up aces -— Hanson, Hope Henderson and Nora Barton. Bailey, Rieck, Hanson and Barton were 100% on serves. Creston gave up eight aces.

The Panthers host Southwest Valley Tuesday and return to Hawkeye 10 action Thursday with visiting St. Albert.