Photo Courtesy of Mid-Prairie Volleyball Social Media
The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk volleyball team steps onto the court Monday to start the tournament trail when the Tipton Tigers visit Tim Grady Gymnasium in Wellman. The Golden Hawks enter action with a 15-13 overall record, having clinched their first winning season since 2008, the same year they last hosted a playoff match. The Golden Hawks finished the conference season 5-6 after being swept in the quarterfinals of the River Valley Conference championship tournament by No. 7 West Liberty at Wilton High School last Thursday. The Hawks have dropped six of their last nine coming into the postseason. On the year, Mid-Prairie is led by Ella Groenewold with 197 kills, sixth in the RVC, and 94 blocks, fourth in 3A, Landry Pacha with 558 assists, third in the River Valley and Dakota Mitchell with 424 digs, sixth in 3A.
Tipton is 9-23 on the year, they finished 3-9 in the River Valley South. They also wrapped up their regular season at Wilton Thursday, swept by the No. 2 ranked Beavers in the quarterfinals of the RVC championship tournament. Tipton advanced to the tournament, by upsetting then No. 15 West Branch earlier in the week. On the season, the Tigers are led by Kaylee Pelzer with 125 kills, Claire Montgomery with 374 assists and Carly Langenberg with 245 digs. This week, Mid-Prairie head coach Sherry Evans talked about what her team can take from their recent play, and the keys against the Tigers.”Early on we didn’t have mistakes. We played fast. That’s our thing, sprint to your positions and beat the ball. We beat Tipton earlier this season in four sets, one of our late conference wins. They had a big upset over West Branch this week so, we have to be ready. We need to play us.”
Tipton has won 18 of the last 23 in this series, but more recently, the Golden Hawks have won three straight against the Tigers including a four set win in Tipton on the final day of September this season. Mid-Prairie is looking for their first playoff win since an opening round victory over Albia in 2014. Action in the 3A regional quarterfinals starts tonight at 7p.m. at Tim Grady Gymnasium in Wellman.