March 28, 2024

C-M nets win over Warhawks

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COLFAX — Junior Ries Wilson and senior Amy Russell are both pitchers on the softball diamond. They both rely on fastballs to get opposing hitters out.

But it doesn’t hurt to throw in a few off speed pitches every now and then.

Colfax-Mingo coach Michelle Grant hopes her two best hitters apply that thinking to the volleyball court.

Wilson and Russell both recorded double-doubles Thursday in the South Iowa Cedar League opener against North Mahaska as the Tigerhawks walked away with a five-set win.

Wilson had 23 kills, 16 digs and five aces, while Russell had 15 kills, 17 digs and two aces during a 25-20, 9-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-10 win over the Warhawks.

“You can’t throw your fastball all the time. Crush one, crush one and then tip one,” Grant said. “That way they are back on their heels waiting for you to crush it and a tip falls in front of them.”

Wilson now has 34 kills in two matches, while Russell is gaining confidence by the match, too. Senior Dakota Hostetter had a team-high 25 digs, junior Megan Earles finished with 38 aces and sophomore Chelsea Russell served up four aces in the conference win.

“We are looking at finishing as high as we can in the conference, and if you lose the first one, you spend the rest of the year trying to claw back into it,” Grant said. “We have some rotations that need to be cleaned up so we can eliminate some of our weaknesses, but it was good to get a win in the conference opener.”

Colfax-Mingo (1-1 overall, 1-0 in the SICL) pulled away in the opening set 7-0 run to make it 21-13. After losing momentum in the second set, the Tigerhawks regained the lead in the third after scoring eight of the final 11 points to break a 17-all tie.

The Tigerhawks led 16-11 in the fourth set but failed to finish off the Warhawks (5-4, 0-1). A 7-0 run got North Mahaska the lead and the visitors extended the match to a fifth and final game after a 26-24 win.

C-M broke a 4-all tie in the fifth set with four straight points. The Tigerhawks never trailed again as Wilson made it 9-6 with a kill, 11-7 with an ace and then finished off the win with her 23rd kill of the night.

“We have been working really really hard in the practice,” Wilson said. “We think we have the ability to finish at the top of the conference. It is something we are shooting for. The intensity was great tonight. It was fun to be a part of this game.”

Carlisle 3, Colfax-Mingo 0

CARLISLE — The Tigerhawks opened the season against Class 4A Carlisle on Tuesday, losing in three sets.

Colfax-Mingo trailed 10-0 in the opening set and never recovered. Carlisle won the match 25-16, 25-16, 26-24.

Wilson’s double-double included 11 kills and 16 digs while she also was 9-of-10 in serves.

Russell added six kills, six digs and was 11-of-13 from behind the service line. Earles finished with 15 assists and was 10-of-11 in serves, Hostetter had three kills and eight digs and Woods chipped in three kills.