The Oskaloosa Indians opened their conference slate on Tuesday against the Newton Cardinals and picked up their 5th win of the year overall with a 3-0 sweep.

The Indians were shot out of a cannon to begin the game, jumping out to a 5-0 lead to open the first set and enjoying a 10-1 run in the middle of the set, cruising the rest of the way to a dominating 25-11 set victory.

The second set seemed poised to tell a similar story. Osky was up 19-8 after another hot start, but the Cardinals rallied a bit, scoring 8 out of the next 10 points. It proved to be too little, too late, however; the Indians were able to right the ship, no doubt benefitting from the leadership of seniors Maleah Walker, Pressley Blommers, and Lucy Roach, upon whom the team continued to lean heavily. The final score of the second set was 25-18 in favor of the Indians.

The third and final set of the night was a back-and-forth affair from the start; though the Indians never trailed the Cardinals, they never possessed a lead of greater than 4 points, and the set was tied 22-22 with the Cardinals hoping to stay alive. It was a well-placed timeout from coach Ashley Goytia that got the team back in its groove, as they scored 3 of the final 4 points to secure the 3-0 sweep.

Oskaloosa (5-2) will head to Cedar Rapids Washington on Saturday for a tournament. Newton (3-4) travels to North Polk on Thursday for a triangular.