Oskaloosa Falls in Four to Pella in Top-15 LHC Showdown
Pella–The Indian volleyball team made the short trek down I-163 Tuesday for a top-15 matchup with #11 Pella, but headed back home disappointed after suffering a 3-1 loss in Little Hawkeye Conference action.
Fourth-ranked Oskaloosa (16-4, 3-1 LHC) fell by scores of 25-19, 21-25, 20-25, 23-25.
The Indians trailed 5-2 in the opening set to the Lady Dutch (15-5, 3-1 LHC), but rallied with nine of the next 11 points. The sides were then tied at 11-11 and 12-12 before the visitors connected on five-straight points and never looked back for the 1-0 advantage in the match.
Pella claimed the early edge in the second set, only to see Oskaloosa pull even at 5-5. Then down 13-9, the Indians responded and owned a 14-13 lead to force a Lady Dutch timeout. Pella, unfortunately, came out of the break reenergized and took the advantage for good to knot up the contest at 1-1.
The third go-round witnessed a back-and-forth affair in the early moments, but Pella earned the lead for good at 6-5. Facing a 17-10 deficit, Oskaloosa picked up seven of the next eight points to get within one. The visiting crew could get no closer, though, and headed to the fourth set trailing 2-1.
It was Oskaloosa that went out ahead in the fourth set, but Pella bounced back. Following the first couple of runs by each squad, the fourth set became the tightest and most entertaining of the evening. Neither team was able to shake the other with the Indians recapturing the edge at 21-20. Unfortunately, the Lady Dutch had the final say with a pair of two-point runs and closed out the night with the four-set victory.
The Indians relied on the 1-2 punch of Faith DeRonde and Maleah Walker. DeRonde guided her squad with 19 kills on a .175 attack clip, while Walker contributed 12 more winners. The duo both finished with double-doubles as Walker managed 16 digs and DeRonde tallied 15 as well.
Olivia Gordon produced 19 assists with Presley Blommers not far behind with 13 helpers. Defensively, Aubree Blanco was a part of six blocks, while Rylee Ebelsheiser managed four and Walker ended up with three.
Lucy Roach matched DeRonde with 15 digs in addition to also topping Oskaloosa at the service line with two aces.
Next Up: Oskaloosa heads to Eddyville Monday to face Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in non-conference action at 7:15 p.m. The Indians then return to Oskaloosa Tuesday to host Indianola in LHC play at 7:15 p.m.
