JOHNSTON — The Marshalltown volleyball team headed south to compete in the Johnston Invitational to wrap up the regular season, and it finished the day at 0-4.

The Bobcats (12-20) lost to Class 5A No. 15 Johnston (21-19, 20-22, 15-11), 4A No. 10 Clinton (21-19, 21-12), 5A No. 15 Southeast Polk (24-22, 21-14) and Nevada (21-14, 21-12).

MHS head volleyball coach Chris Brees said his girls didn’t get out to a good start and that carried throughout the day.

“We started the morning sluggish and never really recovered, we spent the entire day playing from behind,” Brees said. “We actually had a pretty good pool that I thought we could move out of, but we consistently put ourselves playing from behind.”

Erica Johnson led the Bobcats in kills with 22, followed by Autumn Finch with 18 and Sophie Younkin with 12.

“We struggled hitting today, putting the pressure on Erica’s shoulders,” Brees said. “If we are going to move past Ceda Rapids Washington in regionals, we are going to have to have someone else step up. We were lacking another sideout swing. We had to move some things around today as Hayden (Oetker) went down in practice on Friday with a sprained ankle.”

Madi Finch was the lead facilitator with 57 assists, and she was second on the team in digs with 24, with Johnson leading the way with 25 and Kyra Feldman coming in third with 22.

Johnson added to her lead in kills and digs with a good day serving, as she went 28-for-28 with two aces. Marina Rosalez was 17-for-17 with three aces and Feldman finished 19-for-19 behind the service line.

Brees said heading into a 5A Region 4 matchup with Cedar Rapids Washington in the Roundhouse on Wednesday, his girls just need to rely on the ability they already possess.

“We have the talent on the court, we just don’t play with that confidence we need and get in our own heads,” he said. “We will have to work early this next week to work on playing out of pressure.”