DONNELLSON

Tied in the deciding third match of a tournament semifinal against 2A 11th-ranked West Burlington last Saturday, Mid-Prairie’s Jovi Evans and Dakota Mitchell delivered the knockout punches.

Evans, one of the top attackers in the River Valley Conference, smashed a kill for a one-point Golden Hawks lead. Then, Mitchell scored on a service ace. Evans ended the match with another kill.

Bam, bam, bam. And just like that, the Golden Hawks had won their fifth consecutive match in the Central Lee Invitational.

A sixth win in a row, this time over Burlington, earned the 3A sixth-ranked Golden Hawks a tournament victory in the first week of the regular season.

The Golden Hawks lost just two sets all day long, the second set of a three-set match against West Burlington and the opening set in a pool-play match against Durant. Evans was a killing machine at the net, totaling 47 kills in six matches and 14 sets.

After just one week of competition, Evans ranks second in 3A in kills, trailing only Mount Vernon’s Chloe Meester.

When Evans delivered the winning shot in the semifinals against West Burlington, players from Burlington watched on from the side because their semifinal match had already finished. It was just a preview of what would happen in the title match, when Evans delivered another eight kills against Burlington.

Mid-Prairie defeated Burlington 25-22, 25-18 in the final, stringing together a 10-point run in the second set.

After winning eight of nine sets in pool play and capturing four wins, the Golden Hawks survived a battle with West Burlington in the semifinals, winning 25-20, 24-26, 15-12. They overcame a seven-point deficit in the second set to force a tie, but West Burlington won the final two points to force a third set.

Mitchell had a tournament-best 66 defensive digs and also 11 service aces.

Harper Pacha, a junior, delivered 37 kills to form a strong attacking combo with Evans. Pacha ranks third in 3A.

Freshman Jeorgia Evans, the younger sister of Jovi playing in her first varsity tournament, had 43 digs, including 9 in the title match.

“Jeorgia did a really good job,” said Mid-Prairie head coach Sherry Evans.

Among those adding to Mid-Prairie’s deep rotation was Katelyn Harland, a junior who had 5 kills and 2 aces in the title match; Callie Huber, a senior who had 6 kills in the title match; and Brylee Gearhart, who had 4 kills in the title match.

Others seeing action included Izzy Kite, Kyla Karnes and Kenzington Miller, along with a freshman group of Jeorgia Evans, Tessa Bombei and Claire Trimpe.

“We got a lot of touches today,” said co-coach Zeb Evans.

The Golden Hawks host West Branch in their River Valley opener at 7 Thursday night.

Pella Quad

Mid-Prairie was among three ranked teams battling in a season-opening quadrangular held August 29 at Pella.

The Golden Hawks defeated Bondurant-Farrar in straight sets, and lost to Mount Vernon, the top-ranked team in Class 3A, and Pella, the 11th-ranked team in 4A.

Jovi Evans led Mid-Prairie with 7 kills in the 25-15, 25-20 win over Bondurant-Farrar, and Callie Huber and Harper Pacha each had 6 kills.

Mount Vernon, a 3A state finalist last year, was undefeated in three matches and did not lose a set. The Mustangs topped Mid-Prairie, 25-11, 25-21. The Golden Hawks were the only team to score 21 points against Mount Vernon.

The Golden Hawks dropped a match in straight sets to host Pella by scores of 25-14 and 25-22. Evans had a match-high 10 kills, 11 assists and 2 serving aces. Avery Helmuth led the Golden Hawks with 13 assists.

Over three matches, Evans had 23 kills and Pacha had 20. Dakota Mitchell, the leading defensive player in 3A last year, had 26 digs and Jeorgia Evans, a freshman making her high school debut, had 19 digs.