IOWA CITY — Pella Christian High’s Eagles dropped four matches in Saturday’s tournament action hosted by Iowa City West. Three of those matches went three sets.
“These were our first matches with Lauren Jungling back setting the ball again and Julia Dykstra playing defensive specialist,” said Cindy Nikkel, Eagle head coach. “The team is working hard through a lot of changes in lineups and positions. We continue to see improvements but need more time to build consistency.”
Nikkel also said Andrea Horstman and Morgan De Ruiter will remain on the injured list for the remainder of the season.
Dyersville Beckman Catholic defeated Pella Christian 18-21, 21-10, 15-12. Alyssa Starkey put down 15 kills for the Eagles while Jungling was credited with 16 set assists.
Becca Gritters had seven kills, Christa Veenstra had five kills, and Logan De Graaf had four kills. Jungling also served up two aces.
The Eagles lost to Iowa City West 21-5, 21-9. De Graaf came up with seven digs and put down two kills. Starkey had seven kills.
The Eagles took Davenport North to three sets. They won the first set but lost the next two.
Davenport North notched an 18-21, 21-19, 15-9 win over Pella Christian. Gritters delivered eight kills at the net, while Hannah Beltman put up three blocks, and Veenstra had four kills.
Pella Christian ended the day with another three-set match. Marshalltown beat the Eagles 25-17, 22-25, 15-6. Rachel Ver Meer served up two aces for the Eagles.
Gritters pounded down 10 kills, and Veenstra had four kills.
De Graaf made three kills, and had 12 digs. Dykstra came up with 13 digs, and Starkey had 12 digs.
Pella Christian falls to 2-10 on the season. The Eagles are at Newton (8-4) in Little Hawkeye Conference play Tuesday. Junior varsity and freshman matches are at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity match at 7:15 p.m.
The Eagles lost to Dallas Center-Grimes last Tuesday in Pella.
Dallas Center-Grimes won a gruelling five-set match, 23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-15, 15-10. The Eagles are 0-1 in conference play, while the Newton Cardinals are 1-0.