A three way tie at the top of a five-team Pella Christian tournament was how Saturday ended for two local volleyball teams. Based on point differential, Pella Christian was 2nd and Knoxville was 3rd in the Eagles invitational, with each going 3-1 in the fast paced round robin format. The Bondurant-Farrar Lady Jays won the tournament based on the tiebreaker.

The highlight for the host Eagles was their 2-1 win over previously unbeaten, No. 8 in 4A Knoxville (19-21, 21-13, 15-9). Pella Christian, minus giving up a late 19-15 lead in set one, largely dominated the head-to-head matchup, committing just nine errors while hitting .412 as a team, and knocking in five aces over the Panthers. Molly Bolt had 13 kills, Sarah Gritters had 10, and Avey Amelse with 7. Pella Christian won their first three matches of the day over Grand View Christian 2-1 and Iowa Valley in two sets, before falling to the eventual champion Lady Jays after playing four straight matches in a four hour span. Head Coach Dr. Joanna Settles says the P.C. team took another step in the right direction of finding balance between defense leading into offense.

Knoxville handled the rest of their games for the most part to get to 3-1 in the tournament, with wins over Bondurant-Farrar, Iowa Valley, and Grand View Chrisitan. Katie Keitges had 42 kills over their four matches, and Reilly Finarty tallied 25. Maggie Wilkins finished with 64 digs, and Marley McKay had 78 assists.

The 12-13 Eagles welcome No. 10 in 4A Dallas Center-Grimes to Eagle Lane Tuesday; the 18-1 Panthers head to Clarke Tuesday to resume conference action.