Prairie Volleyball

Prairie Hawks stopped by Hempstead

The Cedar Rapids Prairie volleyball team accomplished some terrific things this year with a conference title and the most victories in school history, but the season ended in sadness and abundant tears Tuesday night.

The eighth-ranked Hawks were bounced by No. 12 Dubuque Hempstead, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, in the Class 5A regional finals at Prairie and denied a spot in the state tournament.

Prairie and Hempstead were no strangers this season, with the Hawks holding a 2-1 edge during the regular season in three meetings, but the fourth confrontation belonged to the visitors from Dubuque.

The Hawks were still crying 15 minutes after the match, following a closed-door meeting in a classroom.

Read more...

Prairie sweeps into 5A regional finals

Kate Busswitz was in grade school the last time the Cedar Rapids Prairie volleyball team made it to the state tournament.

"I was like 11 years old," she said Thursday night, smiling at the distant memory.

Now a polished 6-foot-1 high school senior, Busswitz and the Prairie Hawks need one more victory to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2008 and for only the third time in school history.

Prairie swept Waterloo West, 27-25, 25-18, 25-13, in the Class 5A regional semifinals Thursday to get one step closer to the promised land.

The eighth-ranked Hawks (31-7) will host 12th-ranked Dubuque Hempstead (24-11) in the regional finals at 7 p.m. Tuesday, with the winner advancing to the state tournament No. 12-15 at the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Cedar Rapids.

"Oh my gosh. I can't even explain how bad we want it," Busswitz said. "It will be a tough one. We've got our whole student body ready to come to support us. It will be a close one."

Read more...

No. 7 Prairie edged by No. 12 IC West

The seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie volleyball team was nudged by No. 12 Iowa City West, 25-22, 17-25, 25-16, 18-25, 15-12, in a Mississippi Valley Conference match Tuesday night at Prairie.

Kate Busswitz led Prairie with 17 kills and Megan Oldenburger had nine. Busswitz blocked four shots and Maddie Bell had three blocks. Kendra Gaskill rolled up 40 assists for the Hawks.

Taylor Fisher finished with 27 digs for Prairie. Haley Stecklein and Gaskill led the serving.

Prairie shares MVC volleyball title

WATERLOO - The Cedar Rapids Prairie volleyball team grabbed a share of the Mississippi Division title in the Mississippi Valley Conference Thursday night by topping Waterloo East, 25-21, 25-22, 25-16, in Waterloo.

Kate Busswitz led the fifth-ranked Hawks with 11 kills and Megan Oldenburger had nine. Maddie Bell collected six blocks and Busswitz had four.

Kendra Gaskill finished with 33 assists. Taylor Fisher had 15 digs.

Kate Busswitz led Prairie with 51 kills in the tournament. Megan Oldenburger had 31 kills and Kenzie Soeken finished with 29. Kendra Gaskill rolled up 130 assists and Taylor Fisher had 42 digs.