The Keota Eagles volleyball team enters postseason play after a long layoff.The 19-6 Eagles welcome the 9-13 Montezuma Braves to town for a Class 1A Region 7 quarterfinal matchup.

The Eagles received a bye in the first round of the tournament, and last was on the court October 13th in a straight set sweep of HLV (25-15, 25-18, 25-14). Senior Madison Sheetz leads the Eagle offense with 283 kills, while junior Abby Schulte leads the team in assists with 382. Defensively, senior Callie Greiner leads Keota with 191 digs, while senior Maggie Baker has a team leading 12 blocks.

Montezuma comes into the matchup after defeating Tri County Thornburg (25-18, 25-14, 25-16) last Tuesday in the first round of the regional tournament. The victory snapped a seven match losing streak for the Braves. Senior Mackenzie James leads Montezuma’s offense with 113 kills, while junior Aliya Pargeon leads the Braves with 166 assists. Defensively, senior Brittany Bender leads Montezuma with 116 digs, while freshman Jaciee Snook leads the Braves with 29 blocks.

These two South Iowa Cedar Conference foes met once earlier this season. Keota won the match in straight sets (25-22, 25-22,25-13) on September 25th in Montezuma. The regional quarterfinal between Keota and Motenzuma will serve at 7 p.m. this evening. The winner will face the victor of the Iowa Valley/Lynnville Sully quarterfinal match this Friday in Keota.