Mt. Pleasant, IA- For the past couple of seasons, Mt. Pleasant has usually fielded a younger team with their two top attackers being Alex Scott and Addison Clark, while Abby Carthey has been the main setter since her sophomore season.

That talented group, hoping to make a move in the Southeast Conference (SEC), is now enjoying their senior season. With 10 seniors on the roster, first year head coach Alicia Schrader is certainly enjoying the wealth of experience boasting from the roster,

“I mean, we’re very lucky. We have great leaders. We have two captains, but I mean we could have 5 captains. So, they all have been at this for a long time. They work hard, they’re competitive, they give it everything they got every game, so it’s fun to watch.”

That show was on full display in their home opener last night, as the Panthers entered with a 6-3 overall record but an 0-1 conference record, falling to Washington in straight sets a week ago. A 2-9 Keokuk team waltzed in unprepared for the barrage they would face.

Immediately, the Panthers jumped out to a 3 to 0 lead, which extended to 14 to 7 and eventually maxed out at 19 to 9. Keokuk would go on a 6 to 0 run, but nine combined blocks from Scott and Clark and four team aces allowed Mt. Pleasant to pull away with set one, 25-14.

The final point scored on a Jenna Schwartz block solo, her third block of the set. One of the few seniors who get action was a wall at the net, blocking five attacks by the end of the match. Coach Schrader talked about her development as a middle hitter,

“It’s awesome. She just it’s fun. I want her to have that confidence. She’s pretty, like, timid and she should just know that. And she’s doing great. And we’ve been working hard in those blocks, and you can tell that you know it’s she’s doing a wonderful job…”

The two teams traded points to start the second set, but errors ruled on the Chiefs attacks allowing for Scott to tally five more kills on the night and for Kynlee White—another senior—to solidify the win with two late kills. A 25-15 final in set two.

That momentum led to a 6 to 0 run for the Panthers to begin the third set. Coach Schrader was pleased with how the offense was performing last night,

“Our offense and our setters are key, always like they run the show, so we need them to be on and make good decisions and be smart. And I think they’re making really great decisions. They’ve been playing well, they work hard. We’ve been doing a lot of different talk on how we can get to the net quicker and we’re trying to run some more plays and switch things up a little bit. So, push them a little more even though they’re comfortable in what we’re doing. We’re trying to make it a little bit more. So, they’re doing a great job.”

After a Keokuk timeout, the Chiefs marched back into the game, scoring five points in a row. This would continue for most of the third set, including a 10 to 10 tie after 20 points. Mt. Pleasant would manage to stay a point ahead until an ace by Clark signaled a late run and eventual 25-18 final and sweep for Mt. Pleasant.

However, the third set signaled an emphasis that coach Schrader is hoping to limit in future matchups,

“We talk about limiting our mental errors, our unforced errors. I think that’s really our key. We have a lot of talent. I mean, we really do, but we sometimes lose focus, we might miss a serve that is crucial, or we might make a bad serve-receive pass. So just staying focused the whole time and limiting those hitting errors, serving errors, unforced errors…”

Scott led the offensive effort with 13 kills and an ace, while Clark tallied 11 kills with three aces and a block assist. Schwartz turned in six kills and the aforementioned five blocks. Overall, the Panthers finished with seven aces and six blocks.

Mt. Pleasant improved to 7-3 (1-1 in the SEC) and they will compete in a tournament at Wilton on Saturday, September 13^th, before heading to Fort Madison next Tuesday, September 16^th.

Keokuk will travel to Centerville on Saturday for the Redette Tournament before hosting Washington on Tuesday.

High School Volleyball

Mt. Pleasant dominated in their home opener last night, sweeping Keokuk 25-14, 25-15, and 25-18. The Panthers never trailed in the contest and a big reason was the success of their front row as Alex Scott and Addison Clark combined for 24 kills and Jenna Schwartz blocked five shots. Panther head coach Alicia Schrader talked about how efficiently the offense has been able to stay in rotation,

“Our offense and our setters are key, always like they run the show so we need them to be on and make good decisions and be smart. And I think they’re making really great decisions. They’ve been playing well, they work hard. We’ve been doing a lot of different talk on how we can get to the net quicker and we’re trying to run some more plays and switch things up a little bit. So, push them a little more even though they’re comfortable in what we’re doing. We’re trying to make it a little bit more. So, they’re doing a great job.”

The Panthers will compete in the Wilton Tournament on Saturday, September 13th, with Mediapolis and Winfield-Mt. Union also making the trip. 

Danville lost to #1 Holy Trinity Catholic last night in four sets (25-14, 25-20, 22-25, 25-19). Adalyn Kruse led the Crusaders with 22 kills, while Elizabeth Griffin snatched four aces from the service line. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will face off against West Burlington tomorrow, September 11th, at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Danville will host Mediapolis tomorrow at 7:30 pm.

In a five set thriller, Burlington Notre Dame averted disaster after letting West Burlington come back from a 2-0 deficit, winning the tiebreaker 15-9. The Nikes will travel to Van Buren County tomorrow at 7:30 pm. 

Wapello bounced back from a lackluster tournament appearance over the weekend with a sweep of WACO last night, allowing only 29 total points for the three sets. Mila Jordan had six aces to go along with her team leading eight kills. 

WACO will host Winfield-Mt. Union tomorrow at 7:30 pm.

Mediapolis took down Central Lee last night in four sets as AvaLynn Prall and Josie Hutcheson combined for 25 kills. The Hawks had Chloe Haigh notch 11 kills and five total blocks in the losing effort. 

New London will travel to Central Lee tomorrow at 7:30 pm.

Columbus will hit the road to take on Pekin tomorrow at 7:30 pm.

Fairfield fell to Washington in four sets last night (11-25, 17-25, 27-25, 23-25). The Trojans will travel to Williamsburg to compete in a tournament on Saturday along with West Burlington.

High School Girls’ Tennis

The Southeast Conference will meet up in Burlington tonight for their conference tournament. 

High School Cross Country

The Columbus boys’ team picked up the win at the Sigourney Invitational last night, scoring 34 points. Five Wildcats finished in the top 10 with Ryan Villa’s 4th place finish leading the team. Garrett Landau of WACO took 2nd place with a time of 16 minutes and 47 seconds. New London had Zane Long place in 27th. 

On the girls’ side, Josie Dykstra of WACO finished with the gold medal time of 20 minutes and 12 seconds. Columbus was anchored by Isabel Rendon’s 12th place time of 23 minutes and 26 seconds. New London’s top finisher was Irelynn Kelly in 39th place. 

Van Buren County hosted a meet last night and the boys’ team finished in 2nd place, while the newly ranked girls’ team won the meet. Lincoln Bainbridge led the boys’ team with a silver medal finish, while the girls’ team had Kayley Snowgren, Riley Philips, and Adalyn Snowgren grab 3rd, 4th, and 5th place, respectively.

Fairfield will host the “Ron Hunerdosse” Invite tomorrow, September 11th with Mt. Pleasant, Notre Dame/West Burlington, Van Buren County, New London, Wapello, and Winfield-Mt. Union joining the meet. 

Central Lee will run at the Mustang Invitational tomorrow.

High School Football

New London had their contest against Highland forfeited due to a lack of numbers for the Huskies. The Tigers collect the win as the game will not be rescheduled.

Mt. Pleasant gets back to work as they stay on the road to face off against Oskaloosa on Friday, September 12th, at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.

Wapello will square off against Pekin at 7 pm on the road on Friday. 

Van Buren County will face off against Cardinal on Friday at 7 pm at home.

WACO will host HLV/TC on Friday at 7 pm.

Winfield-Mt. Union will hit the road to square off against English Valleys on Friday at 7 pm. 

West Burlington/Notre Dame will compete on the road against Keokuk on Friday at 7:30 pm.

Mediapolis will head to Fairfield on Friday at 7:30 pm.

Danville will host Columbus on Friday at 7 pm.

Central Lee will make the trip to Fort Madison on Friday at 7:30 pm.

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team swept Western Iowa Tech Community College last night. The Blackhawks will host North Iowa Area Community College tomorrow, September 11th, at 7 pm.

The women’s soccer team collected their first victory of the season last night in a 2-1 final over John Wood Community College. The home opener saw Burlington graduate Hunter Pender net both goals for the Blackhawks. SCC will stay at home to square off against State Fair Community College at 1 pm on Saturday, September 13th.

The men’s soccer team will take on State Fair Community College at 3 pm on Saturday.

College Football

#14 Iowa State will travel to Arkansas State on Saturday, September 13th, at 3 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the call.

Iowa is hoping for a get-right game against UMass on Saturday at home with kickoff at 6:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will be on the call.

This Day in Sports History

1960 – Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia runs a World Record time 2:15:16.2 barefoot to win the men’s marathon at the Rome Olympics; Bikila became the first East African to win a medal.

1972 – American freestyle wrestler Dan Gable wins the 68kg division gold medal at the Munich Olympics; he’s the only Olympic wrestler not to have a single point scored against him in the competition.

1989 – Indianapolis Colt running back Eric Dickerson rushes for 106 yards against San Francisco to become the fastest player to top the 10,000 yard plateau in only his 91st career game.