PRAIRIE VIEW — The Iola High School volleyball team opened up league play at Prairie View on Tuesday, splitting their matchups with Wellsville and Prairie View.
Against Wellsville, the Mustangs fell in three sets, 25-20, 23-25 and 16-25. Iola got off to a strong start but couldn’t finish the match, losing steam in the final two sets.
“The team started the night very strong,” said Iola head coach Amanda Holman. “We dug ourselves a hole in the second set against Wellsville and weren’t quite able to overcome that. The third set our youth showed, as we panicked. But it was a good experience for us to learn from.”
Mustang Reese Curry led offensively with eight kills while Jackie Fager registered six kills. On serves, Aysha Houk went 16-for-17 from the serving line while Kaysin Crusinbery went a perfect 11-for-11 from the serving line with a couple of aces.
While Houk also had 13 digs on the defending side, Crusinbery totaled 19 assists and Rio Lohman made five blocks.
For their second match-up, Iola won two out of three sets against Prairie View, 25-20, 18-25, and 25-17.
“The same thing happened as in the Prairie View game. We started strong, let the second set get away, but were then able to put the third set away,” said Holman.
Curry led in the serving department with five aces while Alana Mader had four aces as well as nine kills. Lohman also had seven kills and Crusinbery knocked in 25 assists and nine digs in the victory.
“Overall, I’m pleased with the way we played. The team had energy, adapted well to our new defensive system, and never gave up,” Holman said.
The Iola High School volleyball team will be back in action when they host an invitational on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
