OSWEGO – The Altoona-Midway High School volleyball team opened the Three Rivers League portion of its schedule here Tuesday. But despite playing well for much of the night, the results did not turn out the way they had hoped.
Altoona-Midway lost both of the league matches. The Lady Jets began the day dropping their TRL opener to a strong Uniontown squad 25-8, 25-9. AMHS played much better in the nightcap but still fell to Oswego 25-18, 27-25.
Altoona-Midway also played a pair of non-league matches Monday at Lyndon High School. In those battles, AMHS came up short to the host Lady Tigers 25-9, 25-10, and also lost to Marais Des Cygnes Valley 25-12, 25-6.
Tuesday’s action capped off a whirlwind portion of the schedule for the Lady Jets, who played nine matches in a week, seven in the past three days, including four matches over back-to-back days.
TRL Openers
Uniontown boasts one of the largest enrollments among schools in the Three Rivers League, while Altoona-Midway and Chetopa are by far the smallest. That discrepancy showed in the league opener as Uniontown overpowered the Lady Jets 25-8, 25-9.
AMHS regrouped and played very competitive volleyball against Oswego. The Lady Jets were right in the thick of things in both sets but still lost 25-18, 27-25.
“We’ve played a lot of volleyball lately and the girls really came out slow for the first match,” said AMHS head coach Michelle Stackhouse. “But they bounced back and played really well against Oswego. “I love watching them play when they play to have fun and to win,” Stackhouse continued. “We didn’t come away with a win tonight, but they played very well.”
Senior Autumn Raymond led the Lady Jets in three categories Tuesday evening, as she fired 13 good serves, handed out 86 passes, and recorded 28 sets.
Meanwhile, senior Emmalynn Pupanek and freshman Sandra Morales topped the charts on the front line as the duo pounded out 12 kills apiece. Morales also finished with 53 passes, 12 serves, 31 sets and three blocks, while Pupanek chipped in eight serves and 76 passes.
Lyndon Triangular
On Monday, the Lady Jets dropped a pair of non-conference matches, losing 25-9, 25-10 to Lyndon; and
25-12, 25-6 against Marais Des Cygnes Valley.
“Both Lyndon and Marais Des Cygnes were very skilled at serving and kills,” Stackhouse said. “We couldn’t seem to get to our spots on time to really get anything going. I didn’t feel we were mentally prepared for either game. That was our downfall.” Sandra Morales had a nice day Monday at Lyndon, finishing with a combined 10 kills, five blocks and six good serves, including three aces. She also had 32 passes and seven sets.
Raymond led the squad with nine successful sets and 33 passes, while also completing two kills, five good serves, and one ace. Pupanek recorded four kills and four blocks to go along with six good serves and 32 passes.
Altoona-Midway, now 0-2 in Three Rivers League play and 4-16 on the season, is scheduled for another four matches next week. The Lady Jets will host Chetopa and St. Paul for a league triangular on Tuesday,
Oct. 1, and then travel to Arma on Thursday, Oct. 3, for another pair of TRL skirmishes against Northeast and Oswego.