The #5 (2A) Aplington-Parkersburg and #6 (2A) South Hardin volleyball teams will continue their build up for the postseason as they visit Oelwein for their final NICL triangular of the season. The triangular will air on 99 The Wave.
#5 (2A) Aplington-Parkersburg (30-6, 2-2 NICL-Central) has won six straight matches including a 5-0 tournament champion performance at Hudson on Saturday. The Falcons have the second best kill efficiency in the NICL-Central with a .235. Peyton Klooster leads the Falcons front line with 306 kills (2nd in NICL-Central) and from the service stripe with 76 aces (most in 2A).
A-P Head Coach Candace Kleespies on playing with consistency and rematch with the Tigers.
“They definitely brought energy, really dialed in on every point, knowing what we had for matchups,” says Kleespies. “Consistency is what we’re really talking with them about, now that we’re here at the end of the season and having that on every ball that we possibly can. I felt they did a really good job of that on Saturday. South Hardin is going to give us another strong battle, which only makes you better for next week when we go into the postseason.”
#6 (2A) South Hardin (22-7, 4-0 NICL-West) will play its first match since a 1-1 night in the fifth place bracket of NICL tournament with a win over #12 (2A) Sumner-Fredericksburg and a loss to Union on Thursday. The Tigers have the top kill efficiency (.211) and serve efficiency (92.8%) in the NICL-West. The Tigers top attackers are Ava Salvo with 220 kills (third in NICL-West) and Alli Sheldahl with 179 kills (fourth in NICL-West).
South Hardin Head Coach John Teske on the freedom and elevated play teamwork has provided the Tigers.
“It’s one of the things that we stress as a team, is we want to try to out team the other opponent,” says Teske. “It can make a big difference in a game, how cohesive and how unified you are as a team. It gives you the freedom to fail as an individual or make an error. It gives you the freedom to be able to swing and not be afraid of making that error. To be able to play with that freedom gets you to a different level of play. That’s what we try to work on in practice, so that we can execute that in the game.”
Oelwein (13-17, 0-4 NICL-East) is in the midst of a four match losing streak, and in most recent action went 0-2 in NICL tournament consolation triangular at Columbus Catholic on Thursday with 2-1 losses to East Marshall and Columbus Catholic. Lainee Reisner leads the Huskies with 145 kills.
Pregame coverage on 99 The Wave begins at 5:20 p.m. followed by the first serve at 5:30 p.m. at Oelwein.
Schedule of Triangular:
#6 (2A) South Hardin
@ Oelwein – 5:30 p.m.
#6 (2A) South Hardin
Vs. #5 (2A) Aplington-Parkersburg – 6:30 p.m.
#5 (2A) Aplington-Parkersburg
@ Oelwein – 7:30 p.m.
