CARBONDALE — The Iola Mustangs’ losing streak extended to three games after falling to Anderson County and Santa Fe Trail Tuesday night.
The Mustangs (1-9, 0-2) continue looking for their first Pioneer League victory after opening Tuesday’s triangular with a 25-14, 25-15 loss to the Santa Fe Chargers (9-4, 2-0). Iola then fell to the Anderson County Bulldogs (3-4, 1-1) to end the evening.
“We have some tough competition in the Pioneer League,” Iola freshman outside hitter Haiyden Desmarteau said. “We can play with any team if we don’t hesitate, go, and have high energy. We can’t get down on ourselves.” 
After falling to the Bulldogs 25-23 in the opener, the Mustangs rallied back to take set two, 25-22. But they could not maintain their momentum in the third set, falling 25-11.
Desmarteau attributed Tuesday’s shortfalls to issues easily fixed either in practice or in a live-game scenario. The Bulldogs and Mustangs will see each other again when Iola hosts Anderson County in October. And between regular season games and tournaments, including this weekend’s Humboldt Invitational, Iola has plenty of time to improve.
“The next time we play them, they aren’t going to like the score,” freshman outside hitter Hannah Thompson said.
