Cards go 3-3 at host tournament
By TROY HYDE NDN Sports Writer
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| Newton volleyball coach Kim Florke (bottom right) talks to her squad during a timeout Saturday at the Cardinal Invitational. Troy Hyde/Daily News |
Facing some tough competition, the Newton volleyball team came away with three wins and three losses Saturday at its host tournament.
The Cardinals defeated conference rival Boone in pool play and then defeated rival Knoxville and Carlisle later in the day. They lost to No. 5 Winterset and Harlan in pool play and were defeated by Boone in consolation action to end the tournament.
“I thought we were sluggish all day,” Newton coach Kim Florke said. “I am not sure if that was because of homecoming or what.”
Florke said she was happy her team found a way to beat Knoxville and thought the Cardinals should have beaten Boone twice. Newton defeated Boone in conference play earlier this year, but Florke admitted it is tough to beat a good team three times in one year. On the day, the NHS coach thought poor serving mental mistakes hurt her squad.
“We missed 45 serves on the day,” Florke said. “That means we are giving teams about seven points per match. That and mental mistakes really hurt us.”
In the opening game against Boone, Newton led 13-10 following a kill by Carrington Mitchell but then trailed 19-14 after several errors. The Cardinals trailed 21-20 before Amanda Jones and Anna Christopher each came through will kills and Mallory Sturtz ended the game with an ace.
In Game 2, the Cardinals got behind and stayed behind. A Christopher kill midway through made it 14-7, but Newton only got as close as six the rest of the way.
The third and final game was tight throughout. Mitchell scored a kill to make it 13-12 and then her kill moments later made it 14-13 before Newton ended the match on the next point.
Sarah Montgomery led the Cardinals against the Toreadors with five aces, while Mitchell had eight kills and seven digs. Sturtz and Christopher each had seven kills and Taylor Woebbeking added 19 assists.
Behind hard hitting from Jodi Purdy and solid defense from the backrow, Winterset easily disposed of Newton in two games, winning 21-12 and 21-10.
Sturtz had five kills to lead the way for Newton, while Jones added four. Woebbeking had 12 assists and senior Natalie McCormick pitched in nine digs.
The final game of pool play saw Newton lose to Harlan in two games. Montgomery again had five aces in that match, while Woebbeking added 12 assists and McCormick had four digs.
The Cardinals won the first two games in tournament play. They beat Carlisle in three games and then took down Knoxville in three.
Against Carlisle, Sturtz had six aces, Mitchell had 10 kills, Woebbeking had 20 assists and McCormick had 16 digs.
Montgomery continued her strong serving with five more aces against the rival Panthers. Sturtz had nine kills, while Woebbeking delivered 21 assists and McCormick had nine digs. Christopher pitched in seven kills, as well.
The second match against Boone and the final match of the day for Newton ended in a three-game loss. In that contest, Mitchell had eight kills, Woebbeking had 20 assists and McCormick added 12 digs.
Pella came away with the tournament championship, besting Winterset in three games to end the day.
Newton is now 12-15 on the season and will travel to Norwalk on Tuesday. The Cardinals will then not play Thursday or Saturday, giving the team some much needed rest heading into next week’s match against Oskaloosa, which takes place on the road Tuesday, Oct. 14.
“It’s a good thing we don’t play for a week after Tuesday,” Florke said. “We need some rest. The girls have been at it for awhile now.”
