According to the Linn-Mar volleyball players, the louder they are the better they play.

“It's an energy thing,” said senior Kristie Sommer. “It seems like when we're talking more to each other more, we're a lot livelier.”

And on Saturday at Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Westside Volleyball Invitational, they were talking up a blue streak.

Seeded No.11 out of 21 teams in the field, the Lions advanced to a semifinals match with top seeded Dike-New Hartford.

Ranked No.1 in Class 2A and two-time defending state champion, the Wolverines from the little Grundy County town of Dike (population 1,200) are arguably the best team in the state.

A rating service has them ranked No.8 in the country. At 28-1 before Saturday, their only loss this year was to St. James Academy of Kansas City. That squad is rated No.2 in the nation and asked for the date in Dike.

Besides a 3-0 loss in that match, DNH had lost only two sets all season in two different games with Janesville (ranked No.2 in Class 1A). “They are a great, great team,” said Linn-Mar Coach Teresa Kehe.

Still, her underdog girls didn't back down one iota. They lost, but the suddenly hungry young Lions took the Wolverines to three sets and gave them their toughest test since the early-season loss.

“We've had a roller-coaster season,” Kehe said of her 17-12 team. “We've struggled with putting together a sustained effort. We've been up and down. We have to learn to battle for every point.”

Linn-Mar set the tone for the day by upsetting West Delaware (ranked No.3 in Class 4A), 21-18, 21-17, in the first match of the morning and then toppled Dubuque Wahlert, 21-6, 21-17.

“We played with a lot of confidence,” said senior striker-supreme Aryn Jones. “We seemed to have more energy, and we were more consistent all day.”

In the semifinals against Dike-New Hartford, they jumped out to a 15-8 lead in the first game. But with a front line of 6-foot-6 Brooke Morgan, her cousin Briana Weber and  Rachel Koop (both 5-foot-10), the Wolverines came back to tie it at 18-18.

“They've got three Division I players,” Linn-Mar's Audra Schminke noted. “And they're good.”

The first game was tied at 22-all, but Dike eked out a 25-22 victory. Far from feeling down from a near-upset, the Lions overcame a 12-8 deficit in the second set to go ahead, 19-16. The Wolverines took the lead again, but Jones smashed two crucial spikes to give Linn-Mar an impressive 25-23 win to square the match, 1-1.

“We had our chances in the first set,” Kehe said. “But we didn't get down. And we didn't play safe. That's when you get unforced errors.”

The magic stopped at set two, however. Playing as if possessed, DNH raced to a 10-2 lead and coasted home with a quick 15-6 victory to take the match.

The two college-bound cousins each had three kills in the tiebreaker. Even in defeat, though, the Lion girls were upbeat.

“The fact that we came back on them after being down a game really gave us confidence,” said Sommer. “We were having fun.”

WESTSIDE  VOLLEYBALL INVITATIONAL

Pool A Results
Dike-New Hartford def.  Maquoketa, 21-6, 21-6
Dike New Hartford def. Kennedy, 21-9,  21-13
Kennedy def. Maquoketa, 21-23, 21-18, 16-14

Pool B  Results
Dowling def. Jefferson, 21-17, 21-11
Dowling def. North  Cedar, 21-8, 21-18
Jefferson def. North Cedar, 21-10, 21-9

Pool C  Results
Hempstead def. Columbus, 21-9, 21-11
Hempstead def.  Washington, 21-16, 22-20
Washington def. Columbus, 21-18, 21-14

Pool  D Results
Linn-Mar def. West Delaware, 21-18, 21-17
Linn-Mar def.  Wahlert, 21-6, 21-17
West Delaware def. Wahlert, 21-10, 21-11

Pool E  Results
Mount Vernon def. Tripoli, 21-12, 18-21, 15-12
Mount Vernon  def. Waterloo West, 21-17, 21-12
Tripoli def. Waterloo West, 21-12,  23-21

Pool F Results
Xavier def. West Liberty, 16-21, 21-14,  15-7
Xavier def. Williamsburg, 21-13, 21-15
West Liberty def.  Williamsburg, 22-20, 17-21, 15-8

Pool G Results
Marion def. Iowa  City West, 24-22, 18-21, 15-8
Marion def. Des Moines Roosevelt, 15-21,  21-19, 15-6
Iowa City West def. Des Moines Roosevelt, 21-16,  21-11

GOLD BRACKET PLAYOFFS

Quarterfinals
Dike-New  Hartford def. Iowa City West, 25-11, 25-13
Linn-Mar def. Mount Vernon,  25-16, 25-20
Hempstead def. Xavier, 25-11, 25-22
Dowling def. Marion,  25-14, 25-15

Semifinals
Dike-New Hartford def. Linn-Mar, 25-22,  23-25, 15-6
Hempstead def. Dowling, 25-17,  25-21

Finals
Dike-New Hartford def. Hempstead, 25-17,  25-19

Consolation
Xavier def. Marion, 25-21, 25-22

SILVER  BRACKET PLAYOFFS

Quarterfinals
Des Moines Roosevelt def.  Tripoli, 25-23, 23-25, 15-8
West Liberty def. Washington, 20-25, 25-17,  15-13
Jefferson def. Kennedy, 25-18, 25-22
West Delaware def.  Williamsburg, 25-22, 25-18

Semifinals
Des Moines Roosevelt def.  West Liberty, 25-22, 25-17
West Delaware def. Jefferson, 25-20,  25-21

Finals
West Delaware def. Des Moines Roosevelt, 25-12,  25-13

Consolation
Tripoli def. Washington, 26-24,  25-14
Kennedy def. Williamsburg, 25-18, 25-19
Jefferson def. West  Liberty, 25-16,  25-13