Lisbon volleyball bounced back from its first loss of the season by capturing the title at the Kepros Invitational on Saturday at Crestwood High School.
The Lions went 5-0, with pool wins over Turkey Valley (21-11, 21-17), Waukon (21-18, 21-13), and North Fayette Valley (21-14, 21-18). Lisbon topped Riceville (21-8, 21-16) in the semifinals and Crestwood (19-21, 21-13, 15-7) in the championship. It was the third straight time Lisbon has won the Kepros title.
“We were able to go on a good, extended run,” Lisbon Coach Lance Kamaus said. “We played well.”
It helped ease the sting of a Tri-Rivers cross-division loss to Central City on Thursday in Lisbon. The Wildcats, ranked in the preseason IGHSAU poll, won 17-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-13, taking the final three sets after the Lions built a 2-0 lead.
“I think the consensus was we didn’t lose the match as much as Central City won the match,” Kamaus said. “You can’t feel bad about the way we played.”
In fact, two different Lions broke the school record for kills in a match. Ava Czarnecki had 33 kills and Mykala Luzum-Selmon had 27. The old record was 23, held by Czarnecki. And Kaitlynn Hasselbusch set the single-match record for assists with 67, breaking the old mark of 56, set by Katie Montgomery in 2013.
“We scored the vast majority of points on attacks,” Kamaus said. “There were very few errors on either side. It was a fun match to watch.”
Addy Happel led Lisbon with 29 digs.
Lisbon (10-1) returns to action Thursday, hosting divisional foe Easton Valley (3-7) at 7:15 p.m. Then Saturday the Lions host the Lisbon Invitational.
Lisbon’s Sarah Dietsch (No. 13) prepares to spike the ball over the net in play at home Thursday, Sept. 7.