The Washington Demons are moving on in the high school volleyball playoffs after a straight-sets victory over Mediapolis last night in the Class 3A Region 5 quarterfinals.

Washington jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first set at home and never let up, winning 25-12. After Mediapolis kept things close early in the second, the Demons closed the frame on a 17-6 run to win 25-11.

Washington would lead by as much as nine in the third set and fend off a late charge from the Bulldogs to win 25-20 and take the match. After the game, Demons head coach Aaron Six told KCII Sports that his team fired on all cylinders.

“I felt that all of our hitters did a great job putting the ball away,” Six said. “It was kind of one of those games where we got up and were able to play a little more relaxed. I thought [the players] did a nice job passing the ball [and] being able to disperse the ball and keeping [Mediapolis] off hand. We had a lot of open shots there on the outside.”

Senior Ella Greiner led Washington with 13 kills, while junior Leighton Messinger had 11 kills and joined Greiner in each picking up a pair of serving aces. Senior Ruby Witthoft led the team with four aces, while junior Taylor Miksch added nine kills and sophomore Layla Green picked up seven kills and a blocked shot.

The victory is the Demons’ fourth straight as they improve their record to 18-15. Washington now advances to the Region 5 semifinals at Davenport Assumption. You can hear all the action Thursday night starting at 6:30 on 106.1 FM KCII.