Kennedy was two points from elimination in the third set of its Class 4A semifinal match against Iowa City West at the state volleyball tournament Friday at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

The Cougars had lost the first two sets and trailed top-ranked West 23-20 in the third set in the best-of-5 match.

But the Cougars clawed back. Senior standout Allie Hutcheson smashed four straight kills and a net violation by West gave the Cougars the third set, 25-23, and the momentum carried over into the fourth set, a 25-15 Kennedy win.

But the magic didn't last.

West won the deciding fifth set, 15-7, and advanced to Saturday's championship.

"It's disappointing we lost the fifth set, especially since we played so well in the third and fourth set, but Iowa City West is a very good team," Hutcheson said. "They have a lot of really talented people and they deserved it."

It was the third straight year Kennedy was beaten by West in the state semifinals and the fourth year overall for a semifinal-round loss for the Cougars.

West (38-6) will be out to defend its title when it faces No. 2 Iowa City High in the championship. City High beat Ankeny Friday afternoon.

Kennedy (30-10) had its seven-match winning streak snapped. Hutcheson led the Cougars with 15 kills, 35 assists, and 3 assists on blocks.

Junior Lexi Rogers had 17 kills and junior Jordan Calef 15 kills, two blocks and five assisted blocks.

Seniors Shelly Stumpff and Olivia Fairfield led West with 13 and 12 kills, respectively.

West took the first two sets by identical 25-18 scores.

"There were some jitters," Hutcheson said. The semifinals are a different animal. There's a little bit more pressure, especially playing West, who we know is a really great team."

There was even more pressure when the Women of Troy used a 6-2 spurt in the third set to take a 23-20 lead that put the Cougars on the brink of elimination.

"It just kind of dawned on us, two points away from losing, we really have to keep it in," said Hutcheson, who notched her first kill off a set play to start the Cougars' winning spurt.

"We were error laden in the first two sets," Goodall said. "Every ball was three inches wide (for Kennedy) and it was two inches in for them. It was all adding up and we lost a little edge there, mentally.

"Then we started to ride on that emotion of getting those big kills from Hutcheson and it was key."

Goodall called a timeout to settle down her club at 23-20. She said she did not direct setter Allie McQuiston to play the ball to Hutcheson, the lithe lefty with the powerful kill shot.

But ...

"(McQuiston) is smart," Goodall said. "She knew that 'Hutch' was hot and that we needed to finish."

Hutcheson said she thought the Cougars played their best set of the season in the fourth set, when they finished with an 8-1 spurt for a 25-15 win. Hutcheson and Calef each had a pair of kills during the run.

"Our sets were solid. Our defense was solid," Hutcheson said. "It was the best we've ever played."

The emotion of fighting back to forge the tie energized the Cougars - perhaps a bit too much. The unforced errors that dogged Kennedy in the first two sets reappeared in the fifth as West broke out to a 9-4 lead.

"I think we got a little bit too intense," Calef said. "We weren't focusing on one point at a time. We were looking too far ahead, maybe.

"I know we believed in ourselves. I know we had a lot of energy. We just need to, mentally, push ourselves."

Kennedy led 2-1 early in the set, but a shot that went long by sophomore Erin Coker and a net violation by Rogers put West ahead to stay.

"We were getting too tight. We were snapping at people," Stumpff said. "We had to breathe and go back to what was working. And that was having fun and having a lot of energy on the court."

The loss was a disappointment, but Goodall had praise for her team's effort.

"I couldn't be more proud of the team," Goodall said. "They could have folded, but they battled back in third set and they played like rock stars in the fourth set.

"Sadly, only one team gets to win. That's just the way it works."