The Mount Vernon varsity volleyball squad faced down the Solon Spartans in Solon Tuesday, Sept. 7, winning 3-0, before experiencing mixed results at the Caroline Found Invitational on Saturday.
Tuesday, Sept. 7The Mustangs triumphed over the home team in Solon with sets of 29-27, 25-13, and 25-20.
“I was expecting a tight match,” admitted Mount Vernon head coach Maggie Willems.
“It was our first conference match, first road game, and against our rivals to the south,” she said.
Despite those daunting circumstances, Willems said, “I was proud of how we battled through set one to grab that game to start out with the advantage.”
“We just stuck to our game plan, and played point to point and were able to gain momentum early in set two,” she reasoned.
Saturday, Sept. 11 The Mustangs next headed to Iowa City to take part in the Caroline Found Invitational, in which they finished 2-2-1.
They began the day with Ankeny coming out on top 2-0 with sets of 21-15 and 21-14, and then Iowa City Liberty also winning 2-0, with their sets being 21-14 and 21-11.
“We started our morning with two of the top 5A teams in Iowa,” Willems said of Ankeny and Iowa City Liberty.
“We played those teams back to back.”
However, Willems indicated, “It was a great opportunity to have our team see the next level that we are aspiring to step up to.”
The Mustangs split sets with Iowa City High 21-12 and 19-21, placing the two teams in a tie.
When it was time for Mount Vernon to meet up with Prairie, they handled them 2-0, with sets of 25-17 and 25-15.
Finally, the Mustangs staved off competition — and a last-ditch comeback effort — from Columbus Catholic, besting the team 21-13 and 21-9.
“The remainder of our day went very well,” Willems said.
“We played consistently at a high level, and when we were challenged in our final set against CCA — eight hours into the long day — we stayed in the battle and found a way to win the match,” said Willems.
The invitational appearance improved Mount Vernon’s record to 7-4.

Gallery • 1 Photos

Mount Vernon’s Brooke Ellyson (No. 8) and Vail Telecky (No. 18) block a Solon hit during the Mustangs’ match Tuesday, Sept. 7, in Solon. The Mustangs won 3-0.