West Liberty came in at No. 7 in the preseason Class 3A rankings, and so far, they are playing up to that standard.
On Saturday, at the Grinnell Varsity Invitational, the Comets knocked out Washington, South Tama and Urbandale, all in straight sets. Their only loss was a tooth and nail battle against Carlisle, which they lost by a combined seven points in two sets.
First, they eased into pool play with a 21-19, 21-14 victory against Washington. The Comets limited the Demons to just 14 kills while putting away 23 of their own.
Junior Sophie Buysse (nine) and senior Rilee Han (seven) led the way in that statistic, with the senior recording a perfect seven-for-seven kill to kill attempt ratio.
The girls were very active on defense with junior Gaby Morales digging out 14 shots while Buysse got to 12. Buysse, Han and senior Maelyn Wainwright each recorded one block as well.
From there, West Liberty would have slightly easier times picking up wins. Against South Tama, they won 21-13, 21-16.
Buysse paced the team again with nine kills while junior Ava Morrison and freshman Emma Yoder had 11 and eight assists respectively.
Buysse received credit for nine kills while Han and Wainwright each tallied four.
The final win on the weekend came against 5A school Urbandale. Though, based on the final score, West Liberty was clearly the more dominant team.
A 21-7, 21-10 beat down was in store as the Comets had their best serving match of the afternoon. The team only missed one of its 41 service attempts.
In particular, freshman Tenley Nixt was a perfect 10 of 10, Morrison was nine for nine and Buysse was eight for eight.
The serves kept coming and the front line kept putting the ball away. West Liberty showed their most balanced attack in this match with five players recording between three and seven kills.
Buysse led the way once again with seven. Wainwright and junior Kaylee Pelzer scored four while Han and Morrison each had three.
Their defense was equally as potent with 40 digs and only allowing nine kills from the other side of the net. Morales dug up 11 shots, Buysse got to nine and Morrison saved eight.
The lone loss was a 21-18, 21-17 defeat against Carlisle, a team which is already 7-3 this season.
The Wildcats were clean behind the service line, making 38 of 41 serves and coaxed 10 errors from the Comets.
Offensively, West Liberty still put away 20 kills with Buysse (six), Han (four), and Wainwright (four) leading the team.
On defense, Morales and Buysse tied for the team lead with nine digs while Han and senior Laney Esmoil each recorded one block.
After playing in a triangular on Tuesday (Aug. 29) against West Branch and Class 4A No. 1 Clear Creek-Amana, as well as playing their first conference match against Tipton on Aug. 31, tournament play will return.
This Saturday, Muscatine High School will play host to the Muskie Invite Tournament. There, West Liberty is slated to face an up-and-coming Durant squad as well as Burlington, Williamsburg and the host Muskies.
Later on in the year, the Comets will have marquee conference matchups against West Branch (Sept. 19), Iowa City Regina (Sept. 21) and Wilton (Sept. 28).
They will also travel to tournaments in Dubuque (Sept. 30), Cedar Rapids (Oct. 7) after hosting their own invitational on Sept. 16.
Grinnell Varsity Invite
West Liberty def. Washington
21-19, 21-14
Saturday, August 26 at Grinnell High School
West Liberty Individual Statistics
Attacks: Laney Esmoil 8-11, 1 kill; Sophie Buysse 18-20, 9 kills; Ava Morrison 5-6, 1 kill; Kaylee Pelzer 5-8, 2 kills; Rilee Han 7-7, 7 kills; Maelyn Wainwright 9-11, 5 kills. Assists: Morrison 15; Emma Yoder 7. Digs: Gaby Morales 14; Jayleen Kivi, 6; Esmoil 1; Buysse 12; Morrison 7; Tenley Nixt 4; Yoder 2; Pelzer 3. Blocks: Wainwright 0.5; Han 0.5; Buysse 0.5. Serves: Morales 6-6; Buysse 6-6; Morrison 8-8; Nixt 6-6; Yoder 3-3; Pelzer 6-9, 1 ace; Buysse 2-3.
West Liberty def. South Tama
21-13, 21-16
Saturday, August 26 at Grinnell High School
West Liberty Individual Statistics
Attacks: Laney Esmoil 2-3; Sophie Buysse 14-16, 9 kills; Ava Morrison 4-4, 2 kills; Alissa Sanchez 1-1; Kaylee Pelzer 4-5, 2 kills; Rilee Han 6-7, 4 kills; Maelyn Wainwright 8-10, 4 kills. Assists: Morrison 11; Emma Yoder 8. Digs: Gaby Morales 10; Jayleen Kivi, 6; Esmoil 1; Buysse 4; Morrison 6; Tenley Nixt 1; Yoder 1; Pelzer 3. Blocks: Wainwright 1; Han 1. Serves: Morales 2-3; Buysse 8-8; Morrison 5-5; Nixt 10-11, 2 aces; Yoder 5-5, 1 ace; Pelzer 7-10, 1 ace.
West Liberty def. Urbandale
21-7, 21-10
Saturday, August 26 at Grinnell High School
West Liberty Individual Statistics
Attacks: Laney Esmoil 4-6, 3 kills; Sophie Buysse 13-13, 7 kills; Ava Morrison 4-4, 3 kills; Kaylee Pelzer 10-13, 4 kills; Rilee Han 3-5, 3 kills; Maelyn Wainwright 5-5, 4 kills. Assists: Morrison 13; Emma Yoder 5; Gaby Morales 4; Buysse 1. Digs: Morales 11; Jayleen Kivi, 4; Buysse 9; Morrison 8; Tenley Nixt 3; Yoder 4; Wainwright 1. Serves: Morales 6-6; Buysse 2-2; Morrison 9-9, 1 ace; Nixt 10-10, 1 ace; Yoder 4-4; Pelzer 1-2.
Carlisle def. West Liberty
18-21, 17-21
Saturday, August 26 at Grinnell High School
West Liberty Individual Statistics
Attacks: Gaby Morales 1-1; Laney Esmoil 2-5, 2 kills; Sophie Buysse 13-14, 6 kills; Ava Morrison 5-6, 2 kills; Kaylee Pelzer 6-8, 2 kills; Rilee Han 5-7, 4 kills; Maelyn Wainwright 5-7, 4 kills. Assists: Morrison 11; Emma Yoder 8. Digs: Gaby Morales 9; Jayleen Kivi, 3; Buysse 9; Morrison 2; Tenley Nixt 2; Yoder 2; Pelzer 2. Blocks: Han 1; Esmoil 1. Serves: Morales 3-3; Buysse 6-6; Morrison 6-7, 2 aces; Nixt 6-7; Yoder 7-8; Pelzer 5-6.