By Staff for www.mcpherson-county-ks.com

            SOLOMON – On Saturday the Elyria Christian volleyball team went on the road and played in the Solomon Tournament where they went 3-2 on the day and finished second for the tournament.

            The Lady Eagles began the day in pool play where they defeated Flint Hills Christian 25-5, 25-15 before losing to powerful Ell-Saline 13-35, 20-25. Finishing pool play, Elyria hung a loss on Wakefield in straight sets, 25-15, 25-14.

            Among the team leaders during the first two matches in pool play were Ryland Hawkinson who had at least nine kills, 10 digs and three blocks and Julia Allen who made 22 digs.

            Against Wakefield, Allen made another nine digs with Raegan Hawkinson recording seven kills and six digs while Laney Reiff had five service aces.

            “We played a really strong day of volleyball,” pointed out Lady Eagle head coach Jayme Gardner. “I am happy with how the girls played today as they had to fight through some adversity and play in some chaos but yet handled it all well.”

            In the semi-final match, Elyria was taken to three sets before beating host Solomon (25-18, 26-28, 25-13) as Ryland Hawkinson had a huge match, recording 12 kills and making 10 blocks. Laney Reiff dished out 14 assists to go with 12 digs while Alexus Swenson and Macy Reiff had double digit digs with 14 and 10, respectively.

            In a bounce back match with Ell-Saline in the tournament championship match, the Lady Eagles succumbed to them once again in straight sets, this time losing 12-25, 19-25 to finish second for the tournament.

            Coach Gardner concluded her reflections on the days matches by saying, “There was a lot of improvement on certain areas that we have been focusing on this week. We’ve got a big week of games coming up next week, so we are looking at improving some more things and getting back at it.”

            On Tuesday, September 13 the Lady Eagles travel to Little River before playing a triangular on the road on Thursday, September 15 at Bluestem with Berean Academy as well.

ELYRIA CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES at Solomon Tournament

Pool Play:

Won over Flint Hills Christian 25-5, 25-15

  • Ryland Hawkinson served 5 aces, recorded 4 kills and made 4 digs
  • Julia Allen made 7 digs

Lost to Ell-Saline 13-25, 20-25

  • Ryland Hawkinson recorded 5 kills, made 6 digs and had 3 blocks
  • Julia Allen made 15 digs

Won over Wakefield 25-15, 25-14

  • Laney Reiff served 5 aces
  • Julia Allen made 9 digs and served 2 aces
  • Raegan Hawkinson recorded 7 kills and made 6 digs

Semi-Final:

Won over Solomon 25-18, 26-28, 25-13

  • Ryland Hawkinson recorded 12 kills, had 10 blocks
  • Laney Reiff dished out 14 assists and made 12 digs
  • Alexus Swenson made 14 digs
  • Macy Reiff made 10 digs

Championship Game:

Lost to Ell-Saline 12-25, 19-25

  • Macy Reiff recorded 4 kills, served 2 aces and made 8 digs
  • Julia Allen made 7 digs

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)