Tigers close H-10 season with Creston win
With Red Oak competing at home Monday night in the opening round of regionals, the Tigers volleyball team looks to make another run at the state tournament.
Red Oak got plenty of regional prep last Monday when they rallied to defeat the Creston Panthers 3-2 in the last regular season match before the postseason.
Down 2-1, Red Oak appeared on their way to a loss during the fourth game when Creston took a 24-23 lead.
“It’s do-or-die,” Red Oak volleyball coach Angela Montgomery said she told the team after the third game loss. “We pride ourselves on never giving up. We obviously don’t want to put ourselves in that position in the first place, but knowing that we have that in us to come back.”
An Angela Mahoney spike tied the game and another by Kate Walker gave Red Oak the 25-24 lead with a chance to force a fifth set.
The two teams had to replay a point after the volleyball went up in the rafters of the Creston High School gymnasium.
Creston matched Red Oak point by point, preventing Red Oak from taking the fourth game. With the game tied 27-27, the Tigers forced a side out on a Creston serve, as well as another ball out to win 29-27.
Prior to Creston taking the lead at 24-23, Red Oak had been holding onto a tight lead. The largest lead for the Tigers was 17-13, which led to Creston burning a timeout.
Following the timeout, the Panthers rallied to tie the game 18-18, but Red Oak took control with three straight points. Creston marched back and kept the game alive.
With the win in game four, Red Oak used the momentum to jump out to a 4-1 lead in the deciding game.
Thanks to a couple of blocks from Grace Blomstedt and a block assist by Mahoney, as well as a ball into the net, Red Oak’s lead became 8-2.
The Panthers marched back, cutting the lead down to 9-6. A couple of points by sophomore middle hitter Megan Sands, slowed the Creston rally.
Sands took advantage of one opportunity, getting a spike giving the Tigers an 11-6 lead, leading to a Panthers timeout. Sands finished the night with five kills out of nine attack attempts with a block assist.
“Megan just did a phenomenal job bringing energy. She doesn’t see the court a lot, she came in and she really didn’t miss a beat,” Montgomery said.
Creston tried to play catch-up, but a couple of kills by Walker, including the deciding point, which bounced off a Creston player, gave Red Oak the 15-10 game five win.
Walker had a big night for Red Oak as she finished with 20 kills out of 60 attack attempts and had 14 digs, both team-highs.
The Tigers struggled in game one as Creston jumped out to a multiple point lead. Red Oak tried to claw their way back, but the Panthers kept enough of a cushion to win game one 25-21.
“They were hitting the ball. They were blocking very well in the first couple of sets, which I think frustrated some of our hitters and gave us a few more errors than we’re used to,” Montgomery said. “They were keeping every ball in play.”
Creston rallied to take a 12-4 lead to start game two. Red Oak slowed down their momentum, fighting back with kills by Grace Blomstedt, as well as aces by McKenna Mertz. Mertz was 16-for-18 in serving with three aces.
The Tigers eventually took the lead at 17-16. Creston tied, but never took back the lead as Red Oak won game two 25-23.
Game three would be another close one as the teams matched each other point-for-point.
The Panthers rallied and jumped out to an 18-13 lead, forcing Montgomery to call a timeout.
Red Oak scored four of the next seven points, following the timeout, but Creston stayed strong, winning game three 25-19 and taking the 2-1 lead.
“It doesn’t help us either that we saw them two days ago,” Montgomery said, in reference to the Winterset Tournament, which took place Oct. 19.
In addition to Walker, two other Red Oak players finished with double-digit kills. Mahoney had 12, while Blomstedt finished with 10.
Red Oak was short-handed for the match, as Courtney Billings didn’t play due to illness. The Tigers relied on both Makelti White and Blake Bergren to help set the offensive attack.
White had a season-high night for Red Oak as the senior recorded 39 assists.
Bergren meanwhile finished with eight assists and had three digs with two block assists.
“We were a little shorter on the block than we wanted to be, but I thought [Creston] was frustrating us,” Montgomery said.
The Tigers began the regional tournament Monday night at home versus Clarke. Results weren’t available as of press time.
Should Red Oak win, they would host a semifinal match Thursday night against the winner of Clarinda-Shenandoah.
The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.