AMMS volleyball drops close matches
September 17, 2026
BUFFALO - Despite playing some very tough sets along the way, the Altoona-Midway Middle School volleyball team was unable to come away with any victories in three home matches last week.
AMMS dropped Mineral Belt League matches against Bartlett and Mound Valley on Tuesday, Sept. 14, and also fell to Liberty Homeschool Alliance in a non-league affair on Thursday. All of the action was held at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
The Lady Jets, 1-5 on the season, will travel to St. Paul on Monday, Sept. 21, for a quadrangular event. Schools participating will be AMMS, Thayer, St. Paul, and St. Patrick’s of Parsons.
AMMS vs. Bartlett
After getting dominated 25-5 in the opening set, Altoona-Midway gave Bartlett everything they could handle before losing the second set 25-20.
“The girls looked so much better in the second set,” said AMMS coach Lacy Wheeler. “We moved our feet more and started communicating. “In the first set, Bartlett had a couple of really good servers and it got in our heads and I couldn’t bring them out of it.”
Ainsley Wheeler and Emily Lockhart had six service points apiece against Bartlett, with Lockhart claiming three aces and Wheeler a pair. Makayla Mustain tallied five and Teryn Ellsworth four. Emma Kinzle and McKenna Matlock had two service points each.
Wheeler topped the Lady Jets with eight digs and a kill. Matlock finished with six digs while Kinzle and Mustain added four and three, respectively.
“The girls showed they can compete with anyone when they keep their heads up and in the game,” Coach Wheeler noted.
In “B” action, the Lady Jets split with Bartlett, winning 15-10 after losing 15-9.
Kinzle led the squad with 10 points and six aces. Ellsworth and Daisy Dalton chipped in three service points apiece, Lakyn Faller and Kira Adams each tallied two points, and Nickee Rayann added one.
“The younger girls still look nervous for their first set on game nights, but they have all come so far already,” Wheeler said. “I am very proud of them all.”
AMMS vs. Mound Valley
The Lady Jets went toe-to-toe with Mound Valley before dropping a 25-16, 25-23 thriller.
“It was heartbreaking to lose, but a great game to watch,” Wheeler said of the second set. “The girls never gave up and fought all the way to the end.
“There were so many positive steps forward in this game,” she added. “I told the girls to keep their heads high, because I haven’t seen a team yet that we can’t be competitive with when we have good attitudes out there.”
Wheeler had a dominating performance with 12 points, seven aces and eight digs in the second game alone, finishing the match with a line of 14, 7, and 15. Mustain had nine points, six digs and a pair of aces, while Lockhart had six points, four digs and an ace.
Kinzle contributed four points, two aces and four digs; Ellsworth had two points, an ace and three digs; and Matlock notched a point and three digs.
“McKenna is so quick and getting to balls that it won’t surprise me if she is able to become a libber sometime in the future,” Wheeler noted.
Mound Valley also won 15-11, 15-10 in a “B” match.
Ellsworth led the Jet “B” team with six points, Kinzle and Dalton served five apiece, Faller and Adams scored two each and Rayann added one.
“Remember, we have four fifth graders and two sixth graders on our roster,” Wheeler said. “I’m impressed with how much their serving has improved. This younger group has a chance to really be something to watch the next couple of years.”
AMMS vs. Liberty
On Thursday, Altoona-Midway wrapped up a three-date home stand by hosting Liberty Homeschool Alliance. The Lady Arrows came away with a 25-17, 25-17 win.
“We had a few service errors and front row mistakes in the first set, and we’re still working on not letting mistakes affect our play.” Wheeler said. “But our serving overall was better in the second set, and we did much better tonight keeping positive attitudes and staying in the game.”
Pacing the Lady Jet attack for the match were Wheeler, with nine points, six aces and seven digs; Lockhart with seven points, two aces and nine digs; and Mustain with six points, three aces and seven digs.
Matlock, Kinzle, and Ellsworth each fired in four service points and notched six, five, and four digs respectively.
“The girls had their first assist (Mustain) which led to a kill (Matlock) tonight, so that was really exciting,” Wheeler said.
Liberty also won the “B” match 15-7, 15-12. Ellsworth led the attack with eight points. Kinzle and Dalton notched four each and Rayann, Faller and Adams added one apiece.
“The second set was a hard loss. We actually got up 12-3, but Liberty had a really good server get hot and we just couldn’t recover,” Wheeler said. “But the girls played their hearts out. The fifth graders are really impressing me more each time they play.”