East Mills wins crown at Bedford tourney

The East Mills volleyball team travelled to Bedford for their last Saturday tournament of the season and went 5-0 to capture the tournament championship.
The Wolverines (25-3 overall, 4-1 in the Corner Conference) defeated Mount Ayr in straight sets, 21-14, 21-11 to win the team title.
East Mills downed Lamoni 21-7, 21-9, the host Bulldogs 21-10, 21-9 and Mid-Buchanan 21-18, 21-11 in pool play before defeating Stanton 21-7, 21-6 in the semifinals.
“Another great day of volleyball for East Mills.  We played really well all day long.  And we were down another starter, Ellie Hagen, due to an injury along with Brooke Jones who has been out with an ankle injury since last Saturday.  At the beginning of the season, our strength was depth and it is showing now. Very proud of this team!”
In the last win of the day, Wolverines’ coach Connie Viner reached 350 career wins.
Loycee Palmer’s 35 kills led the Wolverines at Bedford. Shaylee Stiverson added 19 kills, Jacey Vandenberg 18 and Ava Grindle 15.
Venna Sayers and Brynn Williams directed the offense to 40 set assists each.
Palmer chipped in 39 digs and Sayers and Williams combined to go 72-for-72 at the service line with eight total aces.
Stanton (9-14 overall, 2-2 in the conference) was 2-3 in Bedford with wins over the host Bulldogs 21-15, 21-15 and Lamoni 12-21, 21-13 and 15-13. The Viqueens losses came to Mount Ayr 21-17, 13-21, 15-13, East Mills 21-8, 21-6 and Mid-Buchanan 21-15, 21-12.
“We competed hard throughout the day against a strong lineup of teams,” said Stanton coach John Mainquist. “We had stretches of really solid play with aggressive serving and good defensive hustle that kept us in some tight matches. Offensively, our hitters found ways to put the ball down, and I was pleased with the energy and communication on the court. While we didn’t come away with all the results we wanted, the tournament was a great opportunity for us to measure ourselves, make adjustments, and continue building consistency.
“The girls showed resilience, and each match gave us something to learn from. We’ll take these lessons back to practice and keep improving as we head into next week.”
Addy Gettler had nine kills on the day to lead the Viqueens. Haylee Joint added eight kills.
Gabi Grebin dished up 37 set assists.

East Mills 21-25-25-28
C.B. St. Albert 25-22-21-26
East Mills defeated Council Bluffs St. Albert at home 21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 28-26 in a hard fought match lasting more than two hours in Council Bluffs Thursday.
“This was another huge win for us tonight,” said East Mills coach Connie Viner. “And what a great match.  It was a long and grueling match, but our girls played fearless and played to win. We came out a little slow in the first set and then dialed in the rest of the match just taking one play at a time. Very impressed with our effort and defense tonight.”
Shalyee Stiverson and Caitlyn Crouse had four and three blocks each, respectively.
Loycee Palmer knocked down 19 kills and Ellie Hagen added 10.
Venna Sayers dished up 25 set assists and Palmer added 23 digs.

East Mills 25-22-27-25,
Fremont-Mills 22-25-25-22
Loycee Palmer knocked down 15 kills and Ellie Hagen nine to help East Mills to a 25-22, 22-25, 27-25, 25-22 victory over Fremont-Mills in a back-and-forth Corner Conference battle in Tabor last Tuesday.
The Wolverines hit .108 as a team but notched 44 kills.
“This was a big win for us tonight,” said East Mills coach Connie Viner. “The girls really showed some grit and kept their composure throughout the match. Our communication broke down a few times, but we stayed aggressive on offense and just kept focusing on one play at a time.  We dug ourselves a big hole in the fourth set down 8-1, but just kept pushing.  Very proud of our team effort.”
Loycee Palmer paced the Wolverines’ attack with 16 kills. Ellie Hagen added nine kills and Ava Grindle and Shaylee Stiverson added seven kills each.
Brynn Williams led the way with 22 set assists and Venna Sayers added 17.
Lana Alley recorded 39 set assists and added seven kills and 20 digs for the Knights.
Hayleigh Mattox led the Knights with 17 kills and Kinley Blackburn added 15.
Reese Gute dug 30 balls on defense for Fremont-Mills.