LIVINGSTON — Iowa–Grant went 2–3 on the day and finished fourth out of eight teams Saturday at its own tournament, the Iowa–Grant Invitational.
The Panthers (7–8, 2–3 SWAL) opened the day with back-to-back wins over Seneca, 25–19, 25–20, and New Glarus, 25–15, 25–11, in pool play before being swept by Dodgeville, 17–25, 20–25.
“We had a pretty good morning going 2-1, but against Dodgeville in the last pool play match we made too many service errors and just other mental errors,” said I–G head coach Marla Simon.
After a second-place finish in Pool A, I–G took Pool B winner Portage three sets in the semifinals, before losing, 25–23, 23–25, 11–15 in a tight match.
“I was happy with the way we played a really good team Portage,” said Simon. “We had our chances to beat them. They definitely were bigger then us, but Kylie Moneypenny had her best match of the day and I feel our defense of Taylor Jackson, Emma Liddicoat and Haley Yelinek did a good job digging balls in the back row.”
In the third-place match Iowa–Grant lost a rematch with Dodgeville 17–25, 17–25.
“I was hoping we would carry over momentum from playing Portage tough into our third-place match with Dodgeville as we didn’t play well against them earlier,” added Simon. “Unfortunately we didn’t get it together to face them that second time and lost in two. That was kind of disappointing. Overall, it was a good day of volleyball but we just needed to push a little harder and be better mentally to get another win.”
Sophomore Emma Liddicoat had 25 kills and 26 digs to lead the Panthers in the tournament. Moneypenny added 23 kills. Sophomore Taylor Liddicoat passed out 80 assists after becoming I–G’s lone setter. Junior Kristin Bingham had 15 kills after moving from part-time setter to full-time outside hitter.
Last Tuesday host Southwestern defeated Iowa–Grant 3–1.
Two nights later Emma Liddicoat (11), Moneypenny (10) and Georgie Faull (10) each had double-digit kills in a 3–1 win over Boscobel.
The Panthers are now 2–3 in SWAL play.
Southwestern 3, Iowa–Grant 1
(from Tuesday, Sept. 16 @ Hazel Green)
Iowa–Grant 16 25 11 9
Southwestern 25 19 25 25
Iowa–Grant stat leaders
Kills: Emma Liddicoat 7, Kylie Moneypenny 4. Blocks: Moneypenny 2, Georgie Faull 2. Assists: Taylor Liddicoat 11, Kristin Bingham 9. Aces: T. Liddicoat 4. Digs: E. Liddicoat 19, Taylor Jackson 15, Haley Yelinek 8.
Iowa–Grant 3, Boscobel 1
(from Thursday, Sept. 18 @ Livingston)
Boscobel 25 21 16 16
Iowa–Grant 19 25 25 25
Iowa–Grant stat leaders
Kills: Emma Liddicoat 11, Kylie Moneypenny 10, Georgie Faull 10. Blocks: Kylie Moneypenny 1. Assists: Taylor Liddicoat 30. Aces: Liddicoat 3, Haley Yelinek 3. Digs: Taylor Jackson 27, E. Liddicoat 22, Haley Yelinek 12.
Iowa–Grant Invitational
(from Saturday, Sept. 20 @ Livingston)
Championship: Portage def. Highland 25–21, 25–20
Third-place match: Dodgeville def. Iowa–Grant 25–17, 25–17
Semifinals: Portage def. Iowa–Grant 23–25, 25–23, 15–11
Highland def. Dodgeville 25–20, 16–25, 15–7
Pool A standings: Dodgeville 2–1, Iowa–Grant 2–1, Seneca 1–2, New Glarus 0–3.
Pool B standings: Portage 3–0, Highland 2–1, Belleville 1–2, Mineral Point 1–2
Iowa–Grant pool play scores
Iowa–Grant def. Seneca 25–19, 25–20
Iowa–Grant def. New Glarus 25–15, 25–11
Dodgeville def. Iowa–Grant 25–17, 25–20
Iowa–Grant stat leaders
Kills: Emma Liddicoat 25, Kylie Moneypenny 23, Krisitin Bingham 15, Haley Yelinek 13. Blocks: Mariah Ginter 4. Assists: Taylor Liddicoat 80. Aces: Yelinek 5, T. Liddicoat 5. Digs: Taylor Jackson 54, E. Liddicoat 26, Yelinek 24.
