The good news: Fall sports have arrived – with all the excitement, anticipation and school pride that come with them - for Altoona-Midway High School and all other high schools across the state.
The bad news: The Lady Jets volleyball squad was unable to come away with a win during competition in the Tri-Rivers League Tournament, which kicked off the 2018 season Saturday at Mound City.
“Saturday was a long day the way the schedule was set up,” said Treasure Hoag, head volleyball coach at AMHS. “We played our first three matches back to back to back. We did get a lunch break, but then played our last two matches back to back as well.”
Even though the Lady Jets finished 0-5 for the tournament, Hoag was not discouraged.
“Overall this weekend was rough due to our serve-receive not being the greatest, and due to having some young players on the court,” Hoag noted. “But, it was the opening date of the season. I hope with some good practices over this week we will be able to fix our mistakes and make a turnaround.”
In their opener, Altoona-Midway fell to Yates Center 25-17, 25-4. Michala Kinzle had four digs and three kills and an ace for AM. Natalie Davis also had four digs and Bailey Graham had two aces.
Jayhawk-Linn then took the measure of the Lady Jets 25-7, 25-14. Abi Elsesser recorded three digs and Kinzle and Graham had two each, while Mariah Stackhouse added an ace and a kill.
St. Paul notched a 25-6, 25-12 victory in the third match. Kinzle led the Lady Jets with nine digs over the two games. She and Stackhouse each added a nice kill.
Uniontown was the next opponent, and the Lady Eagles won by identical 25-13 scores. Davis recorded two aces, two kills and a dig for AM, Tarlton had a kill and a dig and Stackhouse added two digs.
In their tourney finale, the Lady Jets fell to Mound Valley 25-6, 25-10. Kinzle was credited with three kills, three digs and a block, while Davis notched four digs, a kill and an ace.
Altoona-Midway will resume action Tuesday, when they along with Tyro Christian will travel to Chetopa for a triangular. Action gets under way at 5 p.m.