October 1, 2026
Craig Null
Altoona-Midway hosted multi-level volleyball action Thursday, as both the middle school and high school teams had matches at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
BUFFALO - It was a wonderful evening for volleyball, as both the Altoona-Midway High School and Middle School volleyball teams hosted matches Thursday at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
The only thing missing for the home crowd were some Lady Jet victories, as both squads ended up on the short end of their respective matches.
The AMHS Lady Jets hosted a non-conference triangular to finish off the evening, but the Blue and Gold spikers lost to Tyro Christian School 7-25, 11-25; and to Liberty Homeschool Alliance 10-25, 12-25.
A middle school dual between Altoona-Midway and Tyro opened up the day’s activities at Peterson Gym. The AMMS squad was able to win one set, but eventually fell in the best-of-five matchup as the Lady Eagles prevailed 13-25, 25-18, 25-5, 25-17.
Both Altoona-Midway units were slated for additional volleyball action Monday, October. 5. AMMS remained at home to host Meadow View and Chetopa in a triangular. Meanwhile, the high school Lady Jets were scheduled to hit the road for Eureka to face Eureka and Fredonia.
AMHS is also scheduled to remain on the road Tuesday, Oct. 6, squaring off against Uniontown and Crest at a triangular at Colony.
AMHS Triangular
Altoona-Midway dropped a 25-7, 25-11 decision to Tyro Christian School. The Lady Jets later fell to Liberty Homeschool Alliance 25-10, 25-12.
Liberty claimed top honors in the triangular, as the Lady Arrows also topped Tyro 25-13, 25-23.
“We had improvement tonight, but we still came up short,” said AMHS head coach Sharee Bertrand. “We struggled getting the ball over the net on the third hit.
“Destiny Raymond had two aces, while Khiana Hicks, Keyleigh Clines, and Sophie Schaffer each had one,” Bertrand added. “Keyleigh Clines ended the night with four digs, and Allie Lockhart had a kill. Khiana Hicks had two saves.”
AMMS vs. Tyro
Playing a best-of-five format for the first time this season, the middle school Jets got off to a great start, winning the opening set 25-13. But Tyro regrouped to sweep the next three sets, 25-18, 25-5, 25-17.
“We had a good home crowd with most of the school showing up and cheering us on for this first set. The girls were really pumped up,” said AMMS coach Lacy Wheeler. “Tyro started playing good volleyball after the first set, but we played our hearts out in this match, which was really nice to see after our previous outing.
“Overall, the girls looked the best I’ve seen yet,” Wheeler continued. “We were making passes to the setters, and getting the ball set up for hits. We had more digs in this set than any others in the match, even the one that we won. The girls hustled, stayed with it, and never gave up.”
Ainsley Wheeler paced the offensive attack with 18 points and six aces. Makayla Mustain and McKenna Matlock each tallied a dozen points, with five and three aces, respectively. Emily Lockhart recorded 10 points, Teryn Ellsworth had eight with two aces, and Emma Kinzle chipped in six and an ace.
Lockhart and Mustain led the Lady Jets in digs with 20 and 19, respectively, while Wheeler notched 15 digs, Kinzle 13, Ellsworth eight and Matlock seven.
Wheeler also accumulated seven assists, four hits and two kills. Matlock finished with three hits, an assist and a kill; Kinzle had a kill; Ellsworth and Mustain each pounded two hits; and Daisy Dalton added one dig.
“The starters all had some very bright spots, and all four of my 5th graders got a little playing time in this match tonight in different sets,” Wheeler noted. The young girls are coming along great. Daisy had a dig and Kira (Adams) had one that she was able to get to but it shanked. Nickee (Rayann) and Lakyn (Faller) both were moving going for the ball when they were on the court as well.”