Winfield-Mount Union rallies to stun WACO in five-set volleyball thriller
Trailing two sets to none, the Winfield-Mount Union High School volleyball team rallied to defeat WACO, 16-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-11, 15-5 in an SEI Superconference North Division match Tuesday at WACO High School in Wayland.
Bradie Buffington had 21 kills and two blocks to lead the Wolves. Melina Oepping had 15 kills, 24 digs and two blocks. Mariana Piper and Kailey Neil each had five kills. Keely Malone had 40 assists, three aces and two blocks. Keetyn Townsley had seven aces and 23 digs. Aurey Meeker had two aces and 17 digs. Lily Freeman had four blocks and Tessa Huston had 14 digs.
W-MU (20-9 overall, 6-0 North Division) hosts Pekin Thursday on Senior Night.
WAPELLO 25-25-19-25, PEKIN 19-13-25-15: Emily Hemphill and Quinn Veach each had 11 kills and Jacie Hoeg put up 31 assists as the Arrows picked up a North Division win over the Panthers at Packwood.
Hoeg also had three aces, while Hemphill had nine digs and two blocks and Veach had six digs. Tyra Lanz had five kills and Madelyn Lanz and Rachel Hoeg each had three kills.
COLUMBUS 25-25-25, LOUISA-MUSCATINE 18-23-15: Sara Vela had three kills and 20 assists and Victoria Howell had eight kills to lead the Wildcats to a North Division win over the Falcons at Letts.
Jessica DelRio added six kills for the Wildcats, while Aracely Garza had five kills, Daniela Diaz had four kills and Isabelle Lagunas had seven digs.
ILLINI WEST 25-25, BUSHNELL-PRAIRIE CITY 6-15: Reagan Reed had 13 kills and nine assists and Josie Bryan added nine kills and 16 assists to lead the Chargers to a road win at Bushnell. Illinois.
Kaelyn Ferrill had eight digs for the Chargers, whule Madelyn Boyer and Reed each had five.
Boyer had 11 service points and two aces and Abi White had five service points and two aces.
Illini West (19-5) plays Wednesday at Triopia.
WEST HANCOCK 25-21-25, LIBERTY 20-25-11: Jordyn Climer had eight kills, Paiyton Huston and Jadyn Climer each had six kills and Paige Wasielewski had five kills to lead the Titans to victory.
Also for the Titans, Bianca Hill hhad 16 assists and Abbie Morrison had 12 assists. Jordyn Climer had eight blocks and Jadyn Climer had four blocks.
Huston had four aces and 26 digs, Wasielewski had 24 digs and Hailey Harl had 23 digs.
West Hancock improved to 11-7.
Cross country
WEST HANCOCK'S QUINLAN WINS WEST CENTRAL CONFERENCE TITLE: West Hancock's Parker Quinlan won the West Central Conference championship in 16 minutes, 39 seconds. Quentin Althar was fourth in 17:45.
FORT MADISON GIRLS, BOYS THIRD AT CENTERVILLE: Both the Fort Madison girls and boys teams finished third in the Centerville Invitational.
Albia won the girls team title with 43 points, while Fort Madison was third with 73 points.
Avery Rump won the girls race for Fort Madison in 19:19, while twin sister Addison Rump was seventh in 20:36. Also for the Bloodhounds, Hadley Wolfe was 25th in 21:58, Allison Lamb was 33rd in 22:26, Alexa Walz was 44th in 22:43 and Ellie Huebner was 46th in 22:46.
Keokuk's Rylee Olsen was 48th in 22:51.
Pella Christian won the boys team title with 47 points. Fort Madison was third with 87 points and Keokuk was 15th with 102 points.
Jacob Shottenkirk was seventh for Fort Madison in 17:22, while Mason McLey was eighth in 17:34. Also for the Bloodhounds, Riley Tripp was 11th in 17:43, Nolan Guzman was 21st in 18:03, John Cottrell was 42nd in 18:40 and Cameron Shutwell was 47th in 18:49.
Elijah Gibbs was Keokuk's top finisher, taking 57th in 19:11.
Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA Today Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 32 years at The Hawk Eye. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Winfield-Mount Union topples rival WACO in North Division volleyball
