The annual Southeast Iowa Superconference volleyball tournament kicks off tonight with action at four different venues involving six KCII area teams and 18 total schools.
The Winfield-Mt. Union Wolves are the highest seeded school participating from the KCII listening area. The Lady Wolves are the seven seed coming into the event with a 12-6 overall record. They will play at the Louisa-Muscatine site. They were last in action at Saturday’s Holy Trinity Classic where they split four matches, beating Fort Madison and Burlington while falling to Holy Trinity Catholic and Wapello. For the year, the Wolves are led by Bradie Buffington’s 99 kills, Keely Malone’s 242 assists and Keetyn Townsley’s 209 digs. This week, WMU head coach Dave Pieart broke down his team’s recent play and keys in the conference tournament. “The best way to guarantee moving on to the weekend is to win two. There is a way through tiebreakers and total points to move on only winning one, but we are one of the top two seeded teams there, we need to win the two matches we should and then challenge West Burlington if we want to move on. They are the last match of the night, so if we take care of business in the first two matches then we can go into that one with no pressure.”
The Wolves will face West Burlington, Van Buren and the Falcons tonight at L-M.
WACO is the nine seed and will host one of the four opening round pools on Bob Hilmer Court. The Warriors have a 10-6 record after winning four matches over the weekend at the Cardinal tournament. WACO took the title sweeping Cardinal, HIghland, Twin Cedars and Danville. On the year, the Warriors are led by Eliah Kissell’s 115 kills, Grace Coble with 245 assists and Jocelyn Fulton’s 185 digs. Joining the Warriors in Wayland tonight are Burlington Notre Dame, Mediapolis, Pekin and Cardinal.
Hillcrest Academy is seeded 11th in the 18 team field and will travel to Wapello for pool play. The Ravens are 4-15 this year, losing to Wapello in straight sets a week ago. For the year, Hillcrest is led by Esther Hughes with 99 kills, Norah Yoder with 216 assists and Malia Yoder with 142 digs.
The Highland Huskies are the 12 seed and will travel to New London. Highland is 7-6 on the year after winning three of four matches over the weekend at the Cardinal Tournament in Eldon, posting wins over Twin Cedars, Cardinal and Danville. For the year, the Huskies are led by Sarah Burton with 63 kills, MyLei Smith with 68 assists and Mackinze Hora with 116 digs.
Columbus is the 13 seed and will also be in New London. The Wildcats have an overall record of 3-13. They hosted a triangular with Louisa-Muscatine and English Valleys on Tuesday where they split the matches, getting swept by the Falcons and beating the Bears in five. On the year, the Wildcats are led by Victoria Howell’s 111 kills, Sera Vela with 171 assists and Isabelle Lagunas with 121 digs. The home Tigers and Central Lee are also at New London tonight.
Lone Tree is seeded 17th and will be in Wapello. The Lady Lions have an overall record of 4-9. Last week they were beaten in Packwood by the Pekin Panthers in four sets. For the year, Lone Tree is led by Ellen Carow with 39 kills, Ella Buser with 86 assists and Alyssa Knock with 84 digs. Also at Wapello are Holy Trinity Catholic, Danville and the home Arrows.