MIFFLIN — The Iowa–Grant volleyball team took a major step forward last weekend.

After posting back-to-back conference victories over Southwestern and Boscobel last Tuesday and Thursday, coach Marla Simon’s team kept the momentum going Saturday at their own invitational.

Iowa–Grant ran its winning streak to seven matches with five more victories Saturday, including a 25–16, 20–25, 15–10 victory over SWAL rival Mineral Point in the championship match of the eight-team tournament.

Simon’s Panthers swept Albany 25–8, 25–16, then rallied to defeat Portage 14–25, 25–13, 15–6 and swept Marshall 25–16, 25–11 during the morning pool play.

I–G then held off Pool B winner Belleville 25–19, 26–27, 15–12 in the semifinals before facing off with the Pointers.

Junior Mya McCarthy slammed a team-high six kills in the victory over Point and senior Olivia Liddicoat added five of her team-high 39 on the day in the championship match victory. 

“I am so pleased with how the girls played this weekend and really came together to win the invite,” said Simon. “We had so many kids have great days in many areas. Our defense was really good as you see how many digs three kids had, Annie Spurley and Maci Stevens with very solid days and  Liv [Liddicoat] stabilized some blocking for us. 

“Our serving was phenomenal with 39 team aces and served 92 percent on the day.  Kenzie Oakes led us with 14 of those aces and had only one miss out of 66 attempts, which was 98 percent. She was pretty calm and focused on the service line. And, then to praise our offense, we met up against some big block and we are not a tall team. But, with Hazel [Kloserman] leading the offense, we were able to mix it up and move the ball around to many hitters. I am happy for our kids and hope we can continue staying confident and focused.”

Liddicoat finished the day with 39 kills, 12 blocks and 30 digs. Spurley added 23 kills, including eight in the win over Portage, and 29 digs. Klosterman finished with a team-high 93 assists and nine aces. 

Iowa–Grant opened last week with a 25–17, 25–23, 25–23 victory at Southwestern last Tuesday night.

Spurley (8 kills), Liddicoat (7 kills, 8 digs, 4 blocks) and Sydney Lundell (6 kills) led the Panthers’ balanced offensive attack. Klosterman passed out 26 assists and served up a team-high six aces.

“Southwestern is a tough place for us to play and get a win, so this was pretty gratifying for all of us,” said Simon. “We were able to play pretty good defense against their strength of hitting and put really good pressure one with our serves finishing with 14 aces and only six errors.”

Iowa–Grant improved to 3–1 in SWAL play with a 25–18, 25–12, 25–22 road victory at Boscobel (0–12, 0–4).

McCarthy posted a team-high seven kills, while Liddicoat and Spurley each slammed five in the win. Spurley also served a team-high seven aces.

“This was a good match to give more kids a chance to play and sometimes our play wasn’t always pretty, we still found a way to win,” said Simon. “Once again we served well with lots of pressure, finishing with 16 aces as a team. It was another good road win.”

Iowa–Grant 3, Southwestern 0
(from Tuesday, Sept. 17 @ Hazel Green)
Iowa–Grant 25 25 25
Southwestern 17 23 23
Iowa–Grant stat leaders 
Kills: Annie Spurley 8, Olivia Liddicoat 7, Sydney Lundell 6. Blocks: Liddicoat 4, Hazel Klosterman 2. Assists: Klosterman 26. Aces: Hazel Klosterman 6, Maci Stevens 4, Kenzie Oakes 2. Digs: Stevens 10, Liddicoat 8, Spurley 4.

Iowa–Grant 3, Boscobel 0
(from Thursday, Sept. 19 @ Boscobel)
Iowa–Grant 25 25 25
Boscobel 18 12 22
Iowa–Grant stat leaders 
Kills: Mya McCarthy 7, Olivia Liddicoat 5, Annie Spurley 5. Blocks: Liddicoat 2, Spurley 1. Assists: Klosterman 15. Aces: Spurley 7, Maci Stevens 4, Mya McCarthy 2. Digs: Stevens 12, Spurley 6, Liddicoat 5.

Iowa–Grant Invitational
(from Saturday, Sept. 21 @ Iowa–Grant)
Championship: Iowa–Grant def. Mineral Point 25–16, 20–25, 15–10.
Semifinals: Iowa–Grant def. Belleville 25–19, 26–27, 15–12; Mineral Point def. Marshall 25–23, 24–26, 15–13.
Pool A Standings: Iowa–Grant 3–0, Marshall 2–1, Portage 1–2, Albany 0–3.
Pool B Standings: Belleville 2–1, Minera; Point 2–1, Dodgeville 2–1, Seneca 0–3.
Iowa–Grant pool play match scores
Iowa–Grant def. Albany 25–8, 25–16
Iowa–Grant def. Portage 14–25, 25–13, 15–6
Iowa–Grant def. Marshall 25–16, 25–11
Iowa–Grant stat leaders 
Kills: Olivia Liddicoat 39, Annie Spurley 23, Mya McCarthy 17. Blocks: Liddicoat 12. Assists: Hazel Klosterman 93. Aces: Kenzie Oakes 14, Klosterman 9. Digs: Maci Stevens 36, Liddicoat 30, Spurley 29.