OTTUMWA — The Ottumwa volleyball team won three of four games at its home invitational at Evans Middle School gymnasium Saturday.

Aside from the Bulldogs, the tournament featured a number of area teams, including Davis County, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, Centerville and Fairfield.

The Bulldogs ticked off three straight victories before suffering a heartbreaking loss to Fairfield in the semifinals.

Before falling to Trojans (25-14, 22-25, 16-14), Ottumwa racked up wins against Washington (22-20, 21-12), Mount Pleasant (21-15, 21-9) and Davis County (21-5, 23-25, 15-6).

“I feel like the girls played very well,” Ottumwa coach Jessica Carson said. “The game we lost was a very winnable game. We did a lot of good things, but of course we always want more.”

Carson said she felt the girls had played a better game than Fairfield, but they didn’t make enough big plays to pull out a victory. Serving quality correlated with the Bulldogs success or lack thereof at the tourney, the coach said.

“The games we served well we played very well,” Carson said. “When we serve well we are very hard to stop.”

But overall, the coach said she was pleased with the Bulldogs’ performance throughout the day.

“For the most part they played well as a team,” Carson said. “We are improving every game. The more they play together the more they feel comfortable with each other.”

E-B-F, ranked 14th in Class 2A, won the invite after defeating  Fairfield, ranked No. 9 in Class 4A; 2-1 (25-19, 22-25, 15-10) in the finals.

“I think we’re staying really consistent in all our areas of play,” Rockets’ coach Gladys Genskow said. “We’re adapting well to a lot of different situations.”

The coach said her team’s first place finish was the antithesis of a one-person show.

“They gel very well together,” Genskow said. “It was a total team effort.”

Fairfield turned in an excellent showing at the invite. The only two losses the Trojans suffered were against E-B-F. After dropping their opening game to Ottumwa, they bounced back to win two close games against the Bulldogs. In addition, Fairfield beat Burlington 2-0 (21-8, 21-15) and Centerville 2-0 (21-12, 21-11).

After winning its opening match against Mount Pleasant 2-0 (21-10, 21-15), Davis County dropped three straight. Yet, Mustangs’ coach Marty Barnett was proud of the never-give-up attitude her girls showed in their match with the Bulldogs. Ottumwa completely dominated the first game, beating Davis County 21-5. The Mustangs, however, didn’t decide to throw in the towel. Instead they prevailed 25-23 in a competitive second set.

“They kind of thumped us that first game and I was really proud of the girls for coming back and winning that second game,” Barnett said. “We played them tough that second game.”

The Mustangs also gave E-B-F a run for its money when the two teams faced off in the semifinals. Davis County won the first game 25-21, but the Rockets won game two 25-13 and game three 15-10.

Centerville picked up a win against Mount Pleasant 2-0 (25-22, 25-22), but lost to Burlington, Washington, EBF and Fairfield.

Ottumwa plays Des Moines Hoover Tuesday at Evans Middle School.

Ottumwa Volleyball Tournament

Saturday, Sept. 15

Ottumwa results: Ott 22-21, Wash 20-12; Ott 21-21, MP 15-9; Ott 21-23-15, DC 5-25-6; Fair 14-25-16, Ott 25-22-14.

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont results: EBF 21-23-15, Fair 5-25-6; EBF 22-21, Center 20-10; EBF 22-21-15, Burl  24-9-12; EBF 21-25-15, DC  25-13-10; EBF 21-21, Fair 16-18.

Fairfield results: EBF 21-23-15, Fair 5-25-6; Fair 21-21, Center 12-11; Fair 21-21, Burl 8-15; Fair 14-25-16, Ott 25-22-14; EBF 21-21, Fair 16-18,

Centerville results: EBF 22-21, Center 20-10; Burl 21-21, Center 11-9; Fair 21-21, Center 12-11; Center 25-25, MP 22-22; Wash 25-25, Center  21-21

Davis County results: DC 21-21, MP 10-15; Ott 21-23-15, DC 5-25-6; EBF 21-25-15, DC 25-13-10; Wash 21-21, DC 18-17

Ottumwa Statistics

Serving — Megan Black 47-54, Beth Overturf, Olivia Roark 24-26, Katie Sammons 30-33, Jaiden Cloyd 3-3, Chloe Davis 39-39, Ellie Hammack 10-13, Mallary Simmer 1-1. Team — 187-202. Aces — Black 13, Overturf 3, Roark 4, Sammons 7, Hammack. Team — 28. Hitting — Black 58-72, Overturf 5-6, Roark 4-6, Sammons 68-77, Simmer 4-5, Davis 8-8, Kelsey Guyette 1-1, Hammack 18-21, Karissa Wilcoxson 25-28, Megan Cobler 19-21, Hope Bitner 18-20.

 Kills — Sammons 41, Roark, Davis 2, Hammack 6, Karissa Wilcoxson 9, Megan Cobler 5, Hope Bitner 4, Black 21. Team — 89.

Setting — Overturf 42, Black, Sammons, Davis 35, Wilcoxson 2, Cobler. Team — 82.

Blocks — Sammons 10, Hammack 5, Bitner 4, Black, Cobler, Wilcoxson. Team — 22.

Digs — Roark 60, Black 37, Overturf 13, Cloyd 4, Sammons 9, Davis 12, Kelsey Guyette 19, Hammack 9, Wilcoxson 3, Cobler 5, Bitner 4, Simmer. Team — 176.

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Statistics

Serving — Tasha Alexander 53-55, Karlie Taylor 96-103, Shunyl Busch 26-32, McKinley Moore 28-36, Paige Shafer 32-35, Amanda Ratliff 34-36, Harlie Boyer 43-36. Team — 312-334. Aces — Alexander 9, Taylor 8, Busch, 7. Team — 24.

Hitting — Alexander 109-127, Taylor 96-103, Busch 26-32, Moore 28-36, Shafer 13-13, Boyer 5-5, Baugher 38-44. Team — 315-360. Kills —  Alexander 61, Taylor 37, Busch 8, Moore 9, Boyer, Baugher 15. Team — 131.

Setting — Shafer 117, Taylor 3, Busch. Team — 121.

Blocks — Alexander 6, Taylor 10, Busch 5, Moore 10, Shafer 2, Baugher 2. Team — 35.

Digs — Alexander 32, Taylor 32, Busch 10, Moore 2, Shafer 12, Boyer 18, Ratliff 22, Baugher 15. Team — 145.

Davis County Statistics

Serving — Kate Birchmier 23-25, Megan Joos 26-30, Shelby Graves 35-37, Rylee Eakins 27-28, Lauren Lynch 17-17, Janel Fenton 11-11, Caden Dixon 5-5. Team — 144-153. Aces — Birchmier 4, Joos 4, Graves 6, Eakins 5, Lynch 3. Team — 22.

Hitting — Birchmier 27-32, Joos 51-64, Graves 11-12, Eakins 51-65, Lynch 40-48, Cami Guiter 2-2, Fenton 15-16, Connor Wilfawn 2-2, Blair Bodkins 3-5, Dixon 1-1, McKenna Harward 1-1. Team — 204-248 . Kills — Birchmier 8, Joos 24, Graves 3, Eakins 32, Lynch 12. Team — 79.

Setting — Graves 60, Guiter 3, Fenton 2, Dixon. Team — 66.

Blocks —  Eakins 7, Lynch 3, Birchmier, Joos, Guiter. Team — 13.

Digs — Joos 16, Dixon 13, Wilfawn 12, Lynch 11, Bodkins 8, Eakins 7, Graves 6, Harward 3, Guiter 2. Team — 78.