By Sam Parsons

Oskaloosa traveled to 4A #8 Dallas Center-Grimes for a Little Hawkeye Conference volleyball tilt last night in pursuit of a similar result to the last pair of regular season matches they had against the Mustangs, both of which saw the Indians pull out 5-set victories. Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards last night, as the 8th-ranked Mustangs looked to prove they belonged in the top 10 in the state in their class.

The match began as a back-and-f0rth affair that seemed to be a precursor for a long, competitive night of volleyball. Neither team led by more than 4 points at any point in the opening set and it was tied 20-20 toward the end, but the Mustangs closed strong and won the opening set 25-22.

That would prove to be the closest set of the night. The Indians battled again early in the second set, but after leading 10-9, the Mustangs found their groove again, embarking on a 12-4 run to take a 21-14 lead; a late Indians push would not nearly be enough as the Mustangs won 25-19 to take a 2-0 set advantage, putting the Indians in a hole that would be difficult to climb out of. The third set yielded a similar result: DCG held a narrow 16-14 lead midway through before going on a 6-2 run to create separation, and they won the third set by another 25-19 score to secure the sweep.

Oskaloosa (5-12) will keep looking for their first conference win of the season next Tuesday at Pella Christian. That match will be broadcast on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com starting at 7pm.