Rock Port handles Mound City in three sets

ROCK PORT, Mo.- The Rock Port Blue Jays earned a home sweep over the Mound City Panthers in front of a nearly full gymnasium Tuesday night at Rock Port High School.

It was the fourth match this season between the two squads, with Mound City winning two out of three matches coming into Tuesday's contest. The most recent victory came on Sept. 17 when the Panthers swept the Blue Jays in two sets, 25-22, 25-16.

But Tuesday's match was all Rock Port after a close first set. The opening set went back-and-forth, and, in the end, the Blue Jays made just enough plays to take set one, 25-23. 

Set two was dominated from the opening serve by Rock Port as outside hitters Rylee Jenkins and Avery Meyerkorth--the team's top two kill leaders--began to assert themselves into the match. 

Each seemed to get kill after kill in the second set, which the Blue Jays won in runaway fashion, 25-13 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Mound City got off to a much better start in the must-win third set, getting a few kills from senior Sydney Meadows. Meadows was the best player on the floor all night for the Panthers.

After Mound City took a 14-11 lead, the Blue Jays scored the next four points behind the powerful serving of Payten Shrader to go up 15-11. Shrader placed the ball all over the court, utilizing short and long serves, putting the Panthers in tough positions to return.

Mound City would come back to tie it at 16, but it couldn't get any closer than that as it was held away at arm's length for the remainder of the match. 

Rock Port pulled away late to take the third set and the match, 25-18 to improve its record to 9-8 on the season.

Box Score:

Mound City (5-8): 23, 13, 18 - 0

Rock Port (9-8): 25, 25, 25 - 3