Pekin volleyball closed out its regular season Tuesday, October 13th with a 3-1 win at Louisa-Muscatine, finishing the year 15-12 overall and tied for second place in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division.
The Lady Panthers won by set scores of 22-25, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-18. Each set was closely contested early before one team pulled away. The win gave Pekin a 2-2 record against Louisa-Muscatine on the season after dropping the first two meetings.
Paislee Coleman led the offense with 15 kills on .250 efficiency, while Fynlie Brooks added nine kills on .333 efficiency. Taylor Moore contributed eight kills, Reece Brisby four, Kendra Schultz two and Carlie Gambell one. Gambell ran the offense with 31 assists, with Brisby adding two and Coleman one.
Defensively, Schultz led the team with 17 digs, followed by Gambell with 14, Coleman with 12, Ashlynn Adrian with 10, Brisby with nine, Ezra Parsons with seven and Moore with six. At the net, Brooks recorded two blocks — one assist and one solo. Brisby also had two blocks, both solo. Coleman added two blocks — one assist and one solo — and Schultz had one solo block.
Moore had a standout night at the service line, recording five aces. Gambell added two, while Brisby and Schultz each had one. The team served at 93.6% on the night, with Coleman, Bristyn Ingle and Brisby each serving at 100%.
The 15 wins are the most for Pekin since the program gathered 22 wins in 2017-18, and it marks the first time since that season the Lady Panthers will finish above .500. Pekin finished 6-2 in conference play, tying Winfield-Mt. Union for second place. The last time the program had a conference finish that strong was 2018-19, when they finished in a three-way tie for second with Hillcrest Academy and Winfield-Mt. Union at 6-2, though that team finished 14-15 overall.
Head coach Jordan Mohs reflected on the milestone in a post on the program’s social media page. “This team has faced its fair share of bumps in the road this season, but they never let those challenges stop them from accomplishing big things. Their resilience, determination, and hard work have been something special to watch. Having a front-row seat to see just how far this program has come over the past six years has been an honor. I’m so proud of what this team continues to accomplish,” Mohs said.
Pekin will host the first round of Class 1A Region 3 postseason play Monday, October 19th, against Seymour, which finished the regular season 2-13.
