By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa Indians volleyball team took on a highly ranked opponent for the second straight week in a home matchup against (5A) #2 Dallas Center-Grimes on Tuesday night and fell in a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-5, 25-7).

The Indians were one week removed from a road trip to (4A) #1 Norwalk. DCG, like Norwalk, brought multiple returning all-state players to the mix; they were also undefeated entering the match and had only lost 4 total sets in 2026.

The Norwalk match seemed to make the Indians well-prepared in the early going against DCG. The Indians came out of the gates and battled hard, keeping the opening set very close. Seniors Cylee Smith and Ireland McGraw each tallied multiple early kills and freshman Lylah Hughes was featured as a hitter on the right side, despite still playing most of the match at setter. Late in the first set, the Indians were trailing 19-18.

However, the Mustangs appeared to lock in after a well-placed timeout. They scored the final six points of the set to win 25-18, and that set the table for the remainder of the match.

The Mustangs spread the ball around through all-state setter Gwen Farley and used their unpredictability to their advantage the rest of the way, dominating the second and third sets. All-state middle hitter Maggie Leifker and outside hitter Madison Messerly were both utilized frequently to end rallies, even when the Indians were mounting impressive efforts to sustain them. DCG won the second set 25-5, which included an 11-point run, and they won the third and final set 25-7, which included a 10-point run. That gave the Mustangs a clean 3-0 sweep on the night to remain undefeated.

Oskaloosa (7-13) will host Des Moines Christian next Tuesday for their next conference tilt.