INDEPENDENCE, Kan.  - The Independence Volleyball team suffered a tough start to their home tournament Friday as they fell to Dallas-Richland and East Central College. 

In their first match of the day, the Pirates jumped out to a commanding two sets to none lead, 25-23 and 25-20. In what was a very evenly played match, the Pirates found themselves on the wrong side of the next three sets 23-25, 22-25 and ultimately 13-15 in the fifth and final set. The Pirates trailed the final set 3-13 at one point and clawed all the way back to 13-14 before surrendering the final point. 

Alyssa Trane led the way with 13 kills while Hailee Townsend added seven. Demyrea Moore dished out 16 assists, while Sophia Reyes had 24 digs and four service aces. 

In the nightcap, Independence struggled to ever get any real momentum going against East Central College out of Missouri, as they lost in straight sets 18-25, 19-25 and 17-25. Keeley Brown had a nice game with seven kills and three blocks, while Reyes added another 14 digs to her line. 

The Pirates will be right back in action bright and early in the morning for day two, as they take on Clarendon College at 8:00 am and then return for the final game of the weekend against Ottawa JV at 6:00 pm.