OSAWATOMIE — Iola High had to work a little extra to get through Tuesday’s volleyball action.
The Mustangs were in Osawatomie to take on Pioneer League rivals Wellsville and Prairie View for the quadrangular competition.
Iola started out like gangbusters, rolling past Wellsville, 25-20, in the opening set.
“But we didn’t have the urgency we needed to put Wellsville away,” Iola head coach Amanda Holman said. “They came back on us.”
Wellsville rallied to even the match at a set apiece, winning 25-20, to set up a dizzying third-set tiebreaker.
The teams battled to the end, and then some, before the Eagles emerged with a 30-28 win in the final set.
But the disappointment didn’t last long.
Iola broke out of the gates quickly against Prairie View, outscoring the Buffalos 25-19 in the first set.
Prairie View turned the tables in the second, winning 25-21, to set up another tiebreaker.
This time, Iola stayed in control, winning 25-20, to come away with a 1-1 split for the evening.
“We put that ugly loss behind us and played well against Prairie View to pick up a good win,” Holman said.
Reese Curry’s busy night accounted for nine kills against Wellsville and 13 kills (on 19 attempts) against Prairie View. She also served up a combined four aces, had a block, six digs and an assist.
Alana Mader also had a strong night at the net, accounting for 19 kills and five blocks. She also had seven digs and a pair of aces.
Kaysin Crusinbery had five kills, 46 assists, two blocks and nine digs. Elza Clift had 17 digs, a kill and an assist.
Others contributing: Dally Curry, five kills, two blocks and 14 digs; Mariah Jelinek, five digs and three kills; Zoie Hesse, four kills, two blocks, four digs, one ace; and Lily Lohman, six blocks, two kills and an assist.
